Porthleven School
Torleven Road, Porthleven, Helston, TR13 9BX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CROFTY EDUCATION TRUST
- Head Teacher
- Mr Daniel Clayden
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- St Ives
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 300
- Pupils on roll
- 175
- URN
- 143996
- Local authority
- Cornwall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01326562249
About this school
Porthleven School is a primary academy in Helston. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 175 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 39 | 21 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 49% | 62% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 0% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 81% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 62% | 67% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 54% | 67% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Porthleven 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 | Cornwall average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49% | 56.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 56.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 59.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 215 |
| 2023/24 | 198 |
| 2024/25 | 192 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Porthleven School compares
Porthleven School ranked 94th of 209 primary schools in Cornwall for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 3.1% | 21% | 175 | — |
| Breage CofE Primary School | — | 7.3% | 32.4% | 39 | 1.4 miles |
| Nansloe Academy | 63% | 5.1% | 22.8% | 233 | 1.8 miles |
| Parc Eglos School | 49% | 5.5% | 11% | 398 | 1.9 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England Primary School | 53% | 5.9% | 30% | 330 | 2.1 miles |
| Sithney Community Primary School | 46% | 4.4% | 15.4% | 88 | 2.3 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 20.99%
- English as an additional language
- 2.1%
- Overall absence
- 3.09%
- Persistent absence
- 3.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Breage CofE Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Helston
-
Nansloe Academy1.8 miles
Primary · Helston
-
Parc Eglos School1.9 miles
Primary · Helston
-
St Michael's Church of England Primary School2.1 miles
Primary · Helston
-
Sithney Community Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Helston
Other schools in Helston
Porthleven School ranks 5th of the 16 ranked primary schools in Helston.
- 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
- Parc Eglos School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Porthleven School teach?
- Porthleven School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Helston.
- Who is the head teacher of Porthleven School?
- The head teacher of Porthleven School is Mr Daniel Clayden, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Porthleven School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Porthleven 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 big is Porthleven School?
- Porthleven School has 175 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Porthleven School full?
- Porthleven School has capacity for 300 pupils and 175 on roll (58%), 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 Porthleven School a faith school?
- No. Porthleven School has no designated religious character.
- Does Porthleven School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Porthleven School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Porthleven School?
- Porthleven School is part of CROFTY EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Porthleven School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 49% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Porthleven School rank locally?
- Porthleven School ranked 94th of 209 primary schools in Cornwall for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Porthleven School's absence rate?
- Porthleven School's overall absence rate is 3.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Porthleven School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Porthleven 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 10 July 2026.