St Columb Minor Academy
Porth Bean Road, St Columb Minor, Newquay, TR7 3JF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- KERNOW LEARNING MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Executive Principal
- Ms Natalie Simmonds
- Sponsor
- Kernow Learning Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- St Austell and Newquay
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 393
- URN
- 136869
- Local authority
- Cornwall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01637873958
About this school
St Columb Minor Academy is a primary academy in Newquay. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 393 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Columb Minor Academy, 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 89 | 77 | 89 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 55% | 58% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 4% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 78% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 66% | 69% | 89% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 66% | 65% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.80 | - | - |
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 Columb Minor 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 | Cornwall average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55% | 56.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 58% | 56.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 59.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 472 |
| 2023/24 | 469 |
| 2024/25 | 440 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Columb Minor Academy compares
St Columb Minor Academy ranked 62nd of 209 primary schools in Cornwall for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 5.7% | 22.3% | 393 | — |
| Newquay Primary Academy | — | 3.2% | 6.2% | 132 | 0.6 miles |
| Nansledan School | 62% | 5.2% | 19.8% | 386 | 0.9 miles |
| Newquay Junior Academy | 67% | 5% | 20.3% | 462 | 1.2 miles |
| The Bishops CofE Learning Academy | 61% | 4.9% | 19.9% | 316 | 1.3 miles |
| Trenance Learning Academy | — | 4.9% | 17.4% | 321 | 1.5 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)
- 22.27%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.73%
- Persistent absence
- 14.87%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Newquay Primary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Newquay
-
Nansledan School0.9 miles
Primary · Newquay
-
Newquay Junior Academy1.2 miles
Primary · Newquay
-
The Bishops CofE Learning Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Newquay
-
Trenance Learning Academy1.5 miles
Primary · Newquay
Other schools in Newquay
St Columb Minor Academy ranks 2nd of the 8 ranked primary schools in Newquay.
- Cubert Primary School Primary
- Mawgan-In-Pydar Primary School Primary
- Nansledan School Primary
- Newquay Junior Academy Primary
- Newquay Primary Academy Primary
- St Newlyn East Learning Academy Primary
- Summercourt Academy Primary
- The Bishops CofE Learning Academy Primary
- Trenance Learning Academy Primary
- Newquay Tretherras Secondary
- Treviglas Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St Columb Minor Academy teach?
- St Columb Minor Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Newquay.
- Who is the executive principal of St Columb Minor Academy?
- The executive principal of St Columb Minor Academy is Ms Natalie Simmonds, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Columb Minor Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Columb Minor 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 Columb Minor Academy?
- St Columb Minor Academy has 393 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Columb Minor Academy full?
- St Columb Minor Academy has capacity for 630 pupils and 393 on roll (62%), 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 Columb Minor Academy a faith school?
- No. St Columb Minor Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does St Columb Minor Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Columb Minor Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Columb Minor Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Columb Minor Academy is part of KERNOW LEARNING MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Columb Minor Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 55% in 2022/23 and 70% 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 Columb Minor Academy compare with other schools in Cornwall?
- St Columb Minor Academy ranked 62nd of 209 primary schools in Cornwall for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% 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 Columb Minor Academy's absence rate?
- St Columb Minor Academy's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Columb Minor Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Columb Minor 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.