Coombeshead Academy
Coombeshead Road, Newton Abbot, TQ12 1PT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- EDUCATION SOUTH WEST
- Head of School
- Mrs Helen Coulson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Education South West
- Constituency
- Newton Abbot
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,440
- Pupils on roll
- 870
- URN
- 137176
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01626201800
About this school
Coombeshead Academy is a secondary academy in Newton Abbot. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 870 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Coombeshead 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 145 | 112 | 166 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.0 | 43.8 | 46.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.20 -0.43 to +0.03 | -0.12 -0.39 to +0.14 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 38.4% | 49.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 65.2% | 69.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 55% | 50.9% | 63.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.2 |
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 Coombeshead 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 | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42 | 36.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.8 | 36.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.8 | 33.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 887 |
| 2023/24 | 872 |
| 2024/25 | 873 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Coombeshead Academy compares
Coombeshead Academy ranked 13th of 40 secondary schools in Devon for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.8 | 9.9% | 26.8% | 870 | — |
| Newton Abbot College | 40.5 | 9.9% | 25.3% | 1,108 | 0.2 miles |
| South Devon UTC | 25.7 | 18% | 35.5% | 184 | 0.6 miles |
| Teign School | 44.7 | 9.8% | 20.8% | 1,111 | 1.5 miles |
| Torquay Boys' Grammar School | 70.8 | 4.2% | 5.9% | 1,087 | 4.9 miles |
| Torquay Girls' Grammar School | 68.6 | 5.2% | 5.5% | 1,058 | 4.9 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)
- 26.76%
- English as an additional language
- 3.6%
- Overall absence
- 9.93%
- Persistent absence
- 27.37%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Newton Abbot College0.2 miles
Secondary · Newton Abbot
-
South Devon UTC0.6 miles
Secondary · Newton Abbot
-
Teign School1.5 miles
Secondary · Newton Abbot
-
Torquay Boys' Grammar School4.9 miles
Secondary · Torquay
-
Torquay Girls' Grammar School4.9 miles
Secondary · Torquay
Other schools in Newton Abbot
- Newton Abbot College Secondary
- South Devon UTC Secondary
- Teign School Secondary
- Abbotskerswell Primary School Primary
- All Saints Marsh CofE Academy Primary
- Ashburton Primary School Primary
- Bearnes Voluntary Primary School Primary
- Blackpool Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bovey Tracey Academy Primary
- Bradley Barton Primary School and Nursery Unit Primary
- Canada Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Chagford Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Coombeshead Academy teach?
- Coombeshead Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Newton Abbot.
- Who is the head of school of Coombeshead Academy?
- The head of school of Coombeshead Academy is Mrs Helen Coulson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Coombeshead Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Coombeshead 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 Coombeshead Academy?
- Coombeshead Academy has 870 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Coombeshead Academy full?
- Coombeshead Academy has capacity for 1,440 pupils and 870 on roll (60%), 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 Coombeshead Academy a faith school?
- No. Coombeshead Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Coombeshead Academy a selective school?
- No. Coombeshead Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Coombeshead Academy part of an academy trust?
- Coombeshead Academy is part of EDUCATION SOUTH WEST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Coombeshead Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42 in 2022/23 and 46.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Coombeshead Academy compare with other schools in Devon?
- Coombeshead Academy ranked 13th of 40 secondary schools in Devon for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Coombeshead Academy's absence rate?
- Coombeshead Academy's overall absence rate is 9.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Coombeshead Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Coombeshead 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.