Helston Community College
Church Hill, Helston, TR13 8NR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 0 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- TRURO & PENWITH ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Alex Lingard
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Truro and Penwith College
- Constituency
- St Ives
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,712
- Pupils on roll
- 1,297
- URN
- 143981
- Local authority
- Cornwall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01326572685
About this school
Helston Community College is a secondary academy in Helston. It teaches children aged 0 to 18 and has 1,297 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Helston Community 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 | 209 | 223 | 214 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.2 | 39.2 | 43.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.28 -0.47 to -0.08 | -0.48 -0.67 to -0.30 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 25.6% | 47.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 54.3% | 63.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 15% | 13.9% | 17.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.7 |
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 Helston Community 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 | 44.2 | 41.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.2 | 41.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.6 | 41.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,293 |
| 2023/24 | 1,345 |
| 2024/25 | 1,326 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Helston Community College compares
Helston Community College ranked 19th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.6 | 9% | 20.9% | 1,297 | — |
| Mullion School | 43.7 | 9.1% | 23.5% | 548 | 5.9 miles |
| Camborne Science and International Academy | 49.7 | 7.5% | 26.5% | 1,751 | 7.6 miles |
| Penryn College | 49.2 | 10.5% | 19.5% | 1,140 | 8.1 miles |
| Hayle Academy | 42.4 | 8.1% | 30.6% | 623 | 8.1 miles |
| Pool Academy | 41.8 | 8.2% | 29.5% | 714 | 8.4 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
- 9 November 2022
-
Ungraded inspection report13 October 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 20.88%
- English as an additional language
- 1.4%
- Overall absence
- 9.04%
- Persistent absence
- 25.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Mullion School5.9 miles
Secondary · Helston
-
Camborne Science and International Academy7.6 miles
Secondary · Camborne
-
Penryn College8.1 miles
Secondary · Penryn
-
Hayle Academy8.1 miles
Secondary · Hayle
-
Pool Academy8.4 miles
Secondary · Redruth
Other schools in Helston
- Mullion School Secondary
- Boskenwyn Community Primary School Primary
- Breage CofE Primary School Primary
- Coverack Primary School Primary
- Garras Community Primary School Primary
- Godolphin Primary School Primary
- Grade-Ruan CofE Primary School Primary
- Halwin School Primary
- Landewednack Community Primary School Primary
- Manaccan Primary School Primary
- Mullion Primary School Primary
- Nansloe Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Helston Community College teach?
- Helston Community College teaches children aged 0 to 18. It is a secondary school in Helston.
- Who is the headteacher of Helston Community College?
- The headteacher of Helston Community College is Mr Alex Lingard, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Helston Community College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Helston Community 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 Helston Community College?
- Helston Community College has 1,297 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 0 to 18.
- Is Helston Community College full?
- Helston Community College has capacity for 1,712 pupils and 1,297 on roll (76%), 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 Helston Community College a faith school?
- No. Helston Community College has no designated religious character.
- Is Helston Community College a selective school?
- No. Helston Community College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Helston Community College part of an academy trust?
- Helston Community College is part of TRURO & PENWITH ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Helston Community College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.2 in 2022/23 and 43.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Helston Community College compare with other schools in Cornwall?
- Helston Community College ranked 19th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Helston Community College's absence rate?
- Helston Community College's overall absence rate is 9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Helston Community College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Helston Community 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 10 July 2026.