Launceston College
Hurdon Road, Launceston, PL15 9JR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ATHENA LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Principal Mr Matthew Thompson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Launceston College
- SEN provision
- PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- North Cornwall
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,400
- Pupils on roll
- 1,205
- URN
- 139155
- Local authority
- Cornwall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01566772468
About this school
Launceston College is a secondary academy in Launceston. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,205 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Launceston College, 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
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 | 228 | 239 | 250 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.1 | 46.0 | 48.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.10 -0.29 to +0.09 | +0.22 +0.03 to +0.40 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 50.6% | 55.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 71.5% | 68.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 76% | 56.1% | 44% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
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 Launceston College 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 | 45.1 | 41.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46 | 41.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48 | 41.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,389 |
| 2023/24 | 1,337 |
| 2024/25 | 1,280 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Launceston College compares
Launceston College ranked 9th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48 | 7.1% | 23.9% | 1,205 | — |
| Callington Community College | 44 | 9.5% | 25.4% | 887 | 8.7 miles |
| Tavistock College | 41.6 | 11.1% | 25% | 1,200 | 10.8 miles |
| Launceston Primary School | — | 4.9% | 26.8% | 101 | 0.2 miles |
| Windmill Hill Academy | — | 4.7% | 29.8% | 162 | 0.4 miles |
| St Catherine's CofE Primary School | — | 4.5% | 21.9% | 222 | 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.
Inspection history
- 10 May 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report11 March 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 23.88%
- English as an additional language
- 6.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.05%
- Persistent absence
- 18.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Callington Community College8.7 miles
Secondary · Callington
-
Tavistock College10.8 miles
Secondary · Tavistock
-
Launceston Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Launceston
-
Windmill Hill Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Launceston
-
St Catherine's CofE Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Launceston
Other schools in Launceston
- Altarnun Primary School Primary
- Boyton Community Primary School Primary
- Coads Green Primary School Primary
- Egloskerry Primary School Primary
- Launceston Primary School Primary
- Lewannick Community Primary School Primary
- North Petherwin School Primary
- South Petherwin Community Primary School Primary
- St Catherine's CofE Primary School Primary
- St Giles-on-the-Heath Community School Primary
- St Stephens Community Academy Primary
- Tregadillett Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Launceston College teach?
- Launceston College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Launceston.
- Who is the principal of Launceston College?
- The principal of Launceston College is Principal Mr Matthew Thompson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Launceston College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Launceston College, 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 Launceston College?
- Launceston College has 1,205 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Launceston College full?
- Launceston College has capacity for 1,400 pupils and 1,205 on roll (86%), 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 Launceston College a faith school?
- No. Launceston College has no designated religious character.
- Is Launceston College a selective school?
- No. Launceston College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Launceston College part of an academy trust?
- Launceston College is part of ATHENA LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Launceston College have?
- The schools register lists Launceston College's special educational needs provision as: PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Launceston College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.1 in 2022/23 and 48 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Launceston College compare with other schools in Cornwall?
- Launceston College ranked 9th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Launceston College's absence rate?
- Launceston College's overall absence rate is 7.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Launceston College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Launceston College'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.