St Margaret's Academy
Barewell Road, Torquay, TQ1 4PA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ST MARGARET'S ACADEMY
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicola O'Dwyer
- Constituency
- Torbay
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 382
- URN
- 136602
- Local authority
- Torbay
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01803327090
About this school
St Margaret's Academy is a primary academy in Torquay. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 382 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Margaret's Academy, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 June 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 48 | 59 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 52% | 58% | 54% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 3% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 75% | 68% |
| Expected standard in maths | 65% | 69% | 66% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 63% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 102.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Margaret's Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Torbay average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52% | 57% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 58% | 57.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 54% | 57.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 397 |
| 2023/24 | 409 |
| 2024/25 | 398 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Margaret's Academy compares
St Margaret's Academy ranked 21st of 30 primary schools in Torbay for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54% | 5.4% | 27.4% | 382 | — |
| Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay | 44% | 8% | 34.4% | 107 | 0.1 miles |
| Homelands Primary School | 57% | 7.7% | 36.1% | 208 | 0.1 miles |
| St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School | 53% | 4.6% | 31.9% | 241 | 0.3 miles |
| Upton St James CofE Primary School | 36% | 6.9% | 52% | 94 | 0.6 miles |
| Ellacombe Church of England Academy | 71% | 6.1% | 44.9% | 337 | 0.7 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)
- 27.39%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.43%
- Persistent absence
- 15.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay0.1 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Homelands Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School0.3 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Upton St James CofE Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Ellacombe Church of England Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Torquay
Other schools in Torquay
St Margaret's Academy ranks 10th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Torquay.
- All Saints Babbacombe CofE Primary School Primary
- Cockington Primary School Primary
- Ellacombe Church of England Academy Primary
- Homelands Primary School Primary
- Ilsham Church of England Academy Primary
- Lift Barton Hill Primary
- Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School Primary
- Preston Primary School Primary
- Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay Primary
- Sherwell Valley Primary School Primary
- Shiphay Learning Academy Primary
- St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Margaret's Academy teach?
- St Margaret's Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Torquay.
- Who is the headteacher of St Margaret's Academy?
- The headteacher of St Margaret's Academy is Mrs Nicola O'Dwyer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Margaret's Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Margaret's Academy, 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 St Margaret's Academy?
- St Margaret's Academy has 382 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Margaret's Academy full?
- St Margaret's Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 382 on roll (91%), 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 St Margaret's Academy a faith school?
- No. St Margaret's Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does St Margaret's Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Margaret's Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Margaret's Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Margaret's Academy is part of ST MARGARET'S ACADEMY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Margaret's Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 52% in 2022/23 and 54% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Margaret's Academy compare with other schools in Torbay?
- St Margaret's Academy ranked 21st of 30 primary schools in Torbay for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Margaret's Academy's absence rate?
- St Margaret's Academy's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Margaret's Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Margaret's Academy'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.