Coombe Dean School
Charnhill Way, Elburton, Plymouth, PL9 8ES
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WESTCOUNTRY SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Caroline Granville
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Westcountry Schools Trust
- Constituency
- South West Devon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,180
- Pupils on roll
- 1,000
- URN
- 136558
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752406961
About this school
Coombe Dean School is a secondary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,000 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Coombe Dean School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 163 | 152 | 169 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.1 | 48.6 | 49.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.01 -0.22 to +0.23 | +0.16 -0.07 to +0.39 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 53.3% | 48.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 75% | 76.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 36% | 33.6% | 47.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.5 |
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 Coombe Dean 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 | 45.1 | 39.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.6 | 41.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.2 | 42 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,026 |
| 2023/24 | 995 |
| 2024/25 | 1,003 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Coombe Dean School compares
Coombe Dean School ranked 5th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.2 | 7.9% | 20.7% | 1,000 | — |
| Plymstock School | 47.3 | 9.7% | 19% | 1,515 | 0.7 miles |
| Lipson Co-operative Academy | 43.5 | 9.9% | 44.8% | 1,131 | 2.6 miles |
| Plympton Academy | 43.1 | 10.6% | 22% | 984 | 2.6 miles |
| Hele's School | 50.7 | 8% | 16.9% | 1,378 | 2.7 miles |
| Plymouth High School for Girls | 65.5 | 5.9% | 11.2% | 782 | 3.1 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report3 March 2026
- 22 March 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 20.71%
- English as an additional language
- 14.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.87%
- Persistent absence
- 22.69%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Plymstock School0.7 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Lipson Co-operative Academy2.6 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Plympton Academy2.6 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Hele's School2.7 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Plymouth High School for Girls3.1 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
Coombe Dean School ranks 5th of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Plymouth.
- All Saints Church of England Academy Secondary
- Devonport High School for Boys Secondary
- Devonport High School for Girls Secondary
- Eggbuckland Community College Secondary
- Hele's School 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 Coombe Dean School teach?
- Coombe Dean School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Coombe Dean School?
- The headteacher of Coombe Dean School is Mrs Caroline Granville, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Coombe Dean School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Coombe Dean 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 Coombe Dean School?
- Coombe Dean School has 1,000 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Coombe Dean School full?
- Coombe Dean School has capacity for 1,180 pupils and 1,000 on roll (85%), so it has space against 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 Coombe Dean School a faith school?
- No. Coombe Dean School has no designated religious character.
- Is Coombe Dean School a selective school?
- No. Coombe Dean School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Coombe Dean School part of an academy trust?
- Coombe Dean 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 Coombe Dean School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.1 in 2022/23 and 49.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Coombe Dean School compare with other schools in Plymouth?
- Coombe Dean School ranked 5th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Coombe Dean School's absence rate?
- Coombe Dean School's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Coombe Dean School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Coombe Dean 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.