Brannel School
Rectory Road, St Stephen, St Austell, PL26 7RN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CORNWALL EDUCATION LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Tristan Muller-Forster
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Cornwall Education Learning Trust
- Constituency
- St Austell and Newquay
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 888
- URN
- 145108
- Local authority
- Cornwall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01726822485
About this school
Brannel School is a secondary academy in St Austell. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 888 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
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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 138 | 160 | 164 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.5 | 40.8 | 41.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.24 -0.48 to -0.01 | +0.02 -0.20 to +0.25 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 28.1% | 31.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 50.6% | 54.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 14% | 15.6% | 10.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
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 Brannel 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 | 41.5 | 41.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.8 | 41.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.6 | 41.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 898 |
| 2023/24 | 928 |
| 2024/25 | 931 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Brannel School compares
Brannel School ranked 26th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% 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 | 41.6 | 10.1% | 30.4% | 888 | — |
| Poltair School | 47.4 | 9.6% | 33.3% | 882 | 4.6 miles |
| The Roseland Academy | 48.3 | 8.7% | 21% | 665 | 4.7 miles |
| Penrice Academy | 50.9 | 6.9% | 21.6% | 1,405 | 5.4 miles |
| Penair School | 49.1 | 8.2% | 19.7% | 1,223 | 7.9 miles |
| Treviglas Academy | 43 | 8% | 27.7% | 872 | 8.9 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)
- 30.4%
- English as an additional language
- 1.7%
- Overall absence
- 10.06%
- Persistent absence
- 27.14%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Poltair School4.6 miles
Secondary · St Austell
-
The Roseland Academy4.7 miles
Secondary · Truro
-
Penrice Academy5.4 miles
Secondary · St Austell
-
Penair School7.9 miles
Secondary · Truro
-
Treviglas Academy8.9 miles
Secondary · Newquay
Other schools in St Austell
- Penrice Academy Secondary
- Poltair School Secondary
- Bishop Bronescombe CofE School Primary
- Bugle School Primary
- Carclaze Community Primary School Primary
- Charlestown Primary School Primary
- Gorran School Primary
- Mevagissey Community Primary School Primary
- Mount Charles School Primary
- Nanpean Community Primary School Primary
- Roche Community Primary School Primary
- Sandy Hill Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Brannel School teach?
- Brannel School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in St Austell.
- Who is the headteacher of Brannel School?
- The headteacher of Brannel School is Mr Tristan Muller-Forster, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Brannel School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Brannel 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 Brannel School?
- Brannel School has 888 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Brannel School full?
- Brannel School has capacity for 750 pupils and 888 on roll (118%), 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 Brannel School a faith school?
- No. Brannel School has no designated religious character.
- Is Brannel School a selective school?
- No. Brannel School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Brannel School?
- Brannel School is part of CORNWALL EDUCATION LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Brannel School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.5 in 2022/23 and 41.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Brannel School rank locally?
- Brannel School ranked 26th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% 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 Brannel School's absence rate?
- Brannel School's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Brannel School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Brannel 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.