Tavistock College
Crowndale Road, Tavistock, PL19 8DD
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- DARTMOOR MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr James Buchanan
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Torridge and Tavistock
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,982
- Pupils on roll
- 1,200
- URN
- 145336
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01822614231
About this school
Tavistock College is a secondary academy in Tavistock. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,200 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
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
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 237 | 239 | 215 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.6 | 42.8 | 41.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.32 -0.51 to -0.14 | -0.20 -0.38 to -0.02 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 34.3% | 32.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 54.4% | 54% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 51% | 49.4% | 45.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.8 | 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 Tavistock 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 | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42.6 | 36.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.8 | 36.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.6 | 33.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,322 |
| 2023/24 | 1,297 |
| 2024/25 | 1,270 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Tavistock College compares
Tavistock College ranked 32nd of 40 secondary schools in Devon 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 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.6 | 11.1% | 25% | 1,200 | — |
| Callington Community College | 44 | 9.5% | 25.4% | 887 | 7.3 miles |
| Notre Dame RC School | 43.3 | 10.8% | 27.3% | 764 | 8.4 miles |
| Sir John Hunt Community Sports College | 39.8 | 12.5% | 43.5% | 760 | 8.5 miles |
| Tor Bridge High | 40.4 | 12.6% | 28% | 1,121 | 9.3 miles |
| Marine Academy Plymouth | 43.6 | 11.1% | 44.9% | 989 | 9.4 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25%
- English as an additional language
- 2.4%
- Overall absence
- 11.12%
- Persistent absence
- 30.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Callington Community College7.3 miles
Secondary · Callington
-
Notre Dame RC School8.4 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Sir John Hunt Community Sports College8.5 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Tor Bridge High9.3 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Marine Academy Plymouth9.4 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
Other schools in Tavistock
- Gulworthy Primary Academy Primary
- Lamerton CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Mary Tavy and Brentor Community Primary School Primary
- Milton Abbot Primary School Primary
- St Peter's Church of England Junior School Primary
- St Rumon's Church of England Infants School Primary
- Tavistock Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Whitchurch Community Primary School Primary
- Castlebridge School Free Schools
- Tor View School Special schools
- Mount Kelly Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Tavistock College teach?
- Tavistock College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Tavistock.
- Who is the headteacher of Tavistock College?
- The headteacher of Tavistock College is Mr James Buchanan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Tavistock College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Tavistock 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 big is Tavistock College?
- Tavistock College has 1,200 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Tavistock College full?
- Tavistock College has capacity for 1,982 pupils and 1,200 on roll (61%), 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 Tavistock College a faith school?
- No. Tavistock College has no designated religious character.
- Is Tavistock College a selective school?
- No. Tavistock College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Tavistock College?
- Tavistock College is part of DARTMOOR MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Tavistock College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.6 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 Tavistock College rank locally?
- Tavistock College ranked 32nd of 40 secondary schools in Devon 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 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Tavistock College's absence rate?
- Tavistock College's overall absence rate is 11.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Tavistock College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Tavistock 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.