Torquay Academy
Cricketfield Road, Torquay, TQ2 7NU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- TORQUAY BOYS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL
- Principal
- Mr Steve Margetts
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Torquay Boys' Grammar School Multi-Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Torbay
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,400
- Pupils on roll
- 1,472
- URN
- 138370
- Local authority
- Torbay
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01803329351
About this school
Torquay Academy is a secondary academy in Torquay. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,472 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 January 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 238 | 229 | 238 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.4 | 44.6 | 47.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.37 +0.19 to +0.55 | +0.03 -0.15 to +0.21 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 47.2% | 48.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 70.3% | 73.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 7% | 3.1% | 8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
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 Torquay 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 | 48.4 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.6 | 36.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.6 | 38.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,422 |
| 2023/24 | 1,481 |
| 2024/25 | 1,453 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Torquay Academy compares
Torquay Academy ranked 4th of 8 secondary schools in Torbay for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% 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 | 47.6 | 10.1% | 31.3% | 1,472 | — |
| Torquay Girls' Grammar School | 68.6 | 5.2% | 5.5% | 1,058 | 0.5 miles |
| St Cuthbert Mayne School | 39.7 | 11.4% | 41.2% | 1,001 | 0.5 miles |
| Torquay Boys' Grammar School | 70.8 | 4.2% | 5.9% | 1,087 | 0.7 miles |
| The Spires College | 44.5 | 8.6% | 30.8% | 1,154 | 0.9 miles |
| Paignton Academy | 36.9 | 11.4% | 33.6% | 1,568 | 3.9 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)
- 31.29%
- English as an additional language
- 7.1%
- Overall absence
- 10.05%
- Persistent absence
- 26.28%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Torquay Girls' Grammar School0.5 miles
Secondary · Torquay
-
St Cuthbert Mayne School0.5 miles
Secondary · Torquay
-
Torquay Boys' Grammar School0.7 miles
Secondary · Torquay
-
The Spires College0.9 miles
Secondary · Torquay
-
Paignton Academy3.9 miles
Secondary · Paignton
Other schools in Torquay
Torquay Academy ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Torquay.
- St Cuthbert Mayne School Secondary
- The Spires College Secondary
- Torquay Boys' Grammar School Secondary
- Torquay Girls' Grammar School Secondary
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Torquay Academy teach?
- Torquay Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Torquay.
- Who is the principal of Torquay Academy?
- The principal of Torquay Academy is Mr Steve Margetts, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Torquay Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Torquay 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 big is Torquay Academy?
- Torquay Academy has 1,472 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Torquay Academy full?
- Torquay Academy has capacity for 1,400 pupils and 1,472 on roll (105%), 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 Torquay Academy a faith school?
- No. Torquay Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Torquay Academy a selective school?
- No. Torquay Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Torquay Academy?
- Torquay Academy is part of TORQUAY BOYS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Torquay Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.4 in 2022/23 and 47.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Torquay Academy rank locally?
- Torquay Academy ranked 4th of 8 secondary schools in Torbay for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% 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 Torquay Academy's absence rate?
- Torquay Academy's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Torquay Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Torquay 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.