Hele's School
Seymour Road, Plympton, Plymouth, PL7 4LT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WESTCOUNTRY SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Emma Clapham
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Westcountry Schools Trust
- Constituency
- South West Devon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,349
- Pupils on roll
- 1,378
- URN
- 136557
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752337193
About this school
Hele's School is a secondary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,378 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Hele's School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 208 | 232 | 237 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.0 | 47.3 | 50.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.13 -0.07 to +0.32 | -0.09 -0.27 to +0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 57% | 44.8% | 54.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 76% | 68.5% | 75.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 68% | 53.4% | 57.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Hele's School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50 | 39.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.3 | 41.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.7 | 42 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,341 |
| 2023/24 | 1,386 |
| 2024/25 | 1,393 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hele's School compares
Hele's School ranked 4th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.7 | 8% | 16.9% | 1,378 | — |
| Plympton Academy | 43.1 | 10.6% | 22% | 984 | 0.7 miles |
| Tor Bridge High | 40.4 | 12.6% | 28% | 1,121 | 2.0 miles |
| Plymstock School | 47.3 | 9.7% | 19% | 1,515 | 2.3 miles |
| Lipson Co-operative Academy | 43.5 | 9.9% | 44.8% | 1,131 | 2.5 miles |
| Eggbuckland Community College | 42.3 | 10.4% | 21.7% | 1,007 | 2.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.85%
- English as an additional language
- 4.5%
- Overall absence
- 8%
- Persistent absence
- 19.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Plympton Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Tor Bridge High2.0 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Plymstock School2.3 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Lipson Co-operative Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Eggbuckland Community College2.6 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
Hele's School ranks 4th of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Plymouth.
- All Saints Church of England Academy Secondary
- Coombe Dean School Secondary
- Devonport High School for Boys Secondary
- Devonport High School for Girls Secondary
- Eggbuckland Community College Secondary
- Lipson Co-operative Academy Secondary
- Marine Academy Plymouth Secondary
- Millbay Academy Secondary
- Notre Dame RC School Secondary
- Plymouth High School for Girls Secondary
- Plympton Academy Secondary
- Plymstock School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Hele's School teach?
- Hele's School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Hele's School?
- The headteacher of Hele's School is Ms Emma Clapham, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Hele's School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hele's School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Hele's School?
- Hele's School has 1,378 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Hele's School full?
- Hele's School has capacity for 1,349 pupils and 1,378 on roll (102%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Hele's School a faith school?
- No. Hele's School has no designated religious character.
- Is Hele's School a selective school?
- No. Hele's School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Hele's School part of an academy trust?
- Hele's School is part of WESTCOUNTRY SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Hele's School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50 in 2022/23 and 50.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hele's School compare with other schools in Plymouth?
- Hele's School ranked 4th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hele's School's absence rate?
- Hele's School's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hele's School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hele's School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.