St James School
Summer Lane, Exeter, EX4 8NN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE TED WRAGG MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Emily Harper
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Exeter
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 980
- Pupils on roll
- 985
- URN
- 142805
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01392209922
About this school
St James School is a secondary academy in Exeter. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 985 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St James School, 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 15 November 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 189 | 193 | 198 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.2 | 49.3 | 46.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.01 -0.20 to +0.22 | +0.09 -0.11 to +0.30 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 54.9% | 53% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 71.5% | 69.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 70% | 61.7% | 61.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.6 | 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 St James School 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 | 46.2 | 36.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.3 | 36.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.9 | 33.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 986 |
| 2023/24 | 979 |
| 2024/25 | 989 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James School compares
St James School ranked 12th 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 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.9 | 8.8% | 27.5% | 985 | — |
| St Luke's Church of England School | 45.3 | 11.3% | 30.4% | 870 | 0.8 miles |
| St Peter's Church of England Aided School | 53 | 7.6% | 13% | 1,305 | 1.5 miles |
| Isca Academy | 46.4 | 11% | 27.9% | 860 | 2.2 miles |
| Clyst Vale Community College | 44.5 | 9.1% | 23% | 944 | 2.8 miles |
| West Exe School | 47 | 10% | 20.4% | 1,237 | 2.9 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)
- 27.5%
- English as an additional language
- 19%
- Overall absence
- 8.81%
- Persistent absence
- 21.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Luke's Church of England School0.8 miles
Secondary · Exeter
-
St Peter's Church of England Aided School1.5 miles
Secondary · Exeter
-
Isca Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Exeter
-
Clyst Vale Community College2.8 miles
Secondary · Exeter
-
West Exe School2.9 miles
Secondary · Exeter
Other schools in Exeter
St James School ranks 3rd of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Exeter.
- Clyst Vale Community College Secondary
- Isca Academy Secondary
- St Luke's Church of England School Secondary
- St Peter's Church of England Aided School Secondary
- West Exe School Secondary
- Chestnut Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation Nursery
- West Exe Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation Nursery
- Alphington Primary School Primary
- Bowhill Primary School Primary
- Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School Primary
- Broadclyst Community Primary School Primary
- Cheriton Bishop Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St James School teach?
- St James School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Exeter.
- Who is the headteacher of St James School?
- The headteacher of St James School is Miss Emily Harper, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St James School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James School, 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 James School?
- St James School has 985 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St James School full?
- St James School has capacity for 980 pupils and 985 on roll (101%), 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 St James School a faith school?
- No. St James School has no designated religious character.
- Is St James School a selective school?
- No. St James School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St James School part of an academy trust?
- St James School is part of THE TED WRAGG 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 James School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.2 in 2022/23 and 46.9 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 James School compare with other schools in Devon?
- St James School ranked 12th 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 12% 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 James School's absence rate?
- St James School's overall absence rate is 8.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James School'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 2 July 2026.