Millbay Academy
22 Millbay Road, Plymouth, PL1 3EG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- REACH SOUTH ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Matthew Bisco
- Sponsor
- Reach South Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 526
- URN
- 147905
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752221927
About this school
Millbay Academy is a secondary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 526 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 38 | 17 | 21 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 71% | 95% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 18% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 82% | 95% |
| Expected standard in maths | 61% | 82% | 95% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 82% | 95% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.90 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 91 | 78 | 84 |
| Attainment 8 score | 31.2 | 32.7 | 36.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.68 -0.99 to -0.37 | -0.51 -0.84 to -0.17 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 14% | 15.4% | 27.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 33% | 32.1% | 44% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 18% | 7.7% | 9.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.1 |
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 Millbay Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47% | 54.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 58.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 95% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 31.2 | 39.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 32.7 | 41.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 36.9 | 42 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 15.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 550 |
| 2023/24 | 545 |
| 2024/25 | 549 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Millbay Academy compares
Millbay Academy ranked 17th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 1% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36.9 | 15.7% | 58.7% | 526 | — |
| Devonport High School for Boys | 69.3 | 4.7% | 8.3% | 1,300 | 0.5 miles |
| Stoke Damerel Community College | 35.9 | 12.6% | 41.7% | 1,292 | 0.9 miles |
| Scott Medical and Healthcare College | 43.5 | 13.2% | 30.1% | 231 | 0.9 miles |
| Plymouth High School for Girls | 65.5 | 5.9% | 11.2% | 782 | 1.0 miles |
| UTC Plymouth | 36.4 | 15% | 43.6% | 594 | 1.2 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)
- 58.65%
- English as an additional language
- 29%
- Overall absence
- 15.71%
- Persistent absence
- 42.05%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Devonport High School for Boys0.5 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Stoke Damerel Community College0.9 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Scott Medical and Healthcare College0.9 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Plymouth High School for Girls1.0 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
UTC Plymouth1.2 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
Millbay Academy ranks 17th of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Plymouth.
- All Saints Church of England Academy Secondary
- Coombe Dean School Secondary
- Devonport High School for Boys Secondary
- Devonport High School for Girls Secondary
- Eggbuckland Community College Secondary
- Hele's School Secondary
- Lipson Co-operative Academy Secondary
- Marine Academy Plymouth Secondary
- Notre Dame RC School Secondary
- Plymouth High School for Girls Secondary
- Plympton Academy Secondary
- Plymstock School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Millbay Academy teach?
- Millbay Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Millbay Academy?
- The headteacher of Millbay Academy is Mr Matthew Bisco, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Millbay Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Millbay Academy, 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 Millbay Academy?
- Millbay Academy has 526 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Millbay Academy full?
- Millbay Academy has capacity for 600 pupils and 526 on roll (88%), 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 Millbay Academy a faith school?
- No. Millbay Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Millbay Academy?
- Millbay Academy is part of REACH SOUTH ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Millbay Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 95% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Millbay Academy rank locally?
- Millbay Academy ranked 17th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 1% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Millbay Academy's absence rate?
- Millbay Academy's overall absence rate is 15.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Millbay Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Millbay Academy'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.