Plymouth High School for Girls
St Lawrence Road, Plymouth, PL4 6HT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Trust
- THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Underdown
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Sponsor
- The Thinking Schools Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 804
- Pupils on roll
- 782
- URN
- 148369
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 03333602230
About this school
Plymouth High School for Girls is a girls' secondary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 782 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Plymouth High School for Girls, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 April 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 115 | 116 | 103 |
| Attainment 8 score | 65.6 | 65.3 | 65.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.19 -0.07 to +0.46 | +0.24 -0.03 to +0.50 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 89% | 90.5% | 90.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 99% | 97.4% | 97.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 53% | 40.5% | 53.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
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 Plymouth High School for Girls 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 | 65.6 | 39.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 65.3 | 41.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 65.5 | 42 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 826 |
| 2023/24 | 816 |
| 2024/25 | 795 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Plymouth High School for Girls compares
Plymouth High School for Girls ranked 3rd of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 96% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65.5 | 5.9% | 11.2% | 782 | — |
| Lipson Co-operative Academy | 43.5 | 9.9% | 44.8% | 1,131 | 0.8 miles |
| Stoke Damerel Community College | 35.9 | 12.6% | 41.7% | 1,292 | 1.0 miles |
| Scott Medical and Healthcare College | 43.5 | 13.2% | 30.1% | 231 | 1.0 miles |
| Millbay Academy | 36.9 | 15.7% | 58.7% | 526 | 1.0 miles |
| Devonport High School for Girls | 73.8 | 5% | 9.8% | 971 | 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)
- 11.15%
- English as an additional language
- 8.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.88%
- Persistent absence
- 14.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lipson Co-operative Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Stoke Damerel Community College1.0 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Scott Medical and Healthcare College1.0 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Millbay Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Devonport High School for Girls1.2 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
Plymouth High School for Girls ranks 3rd 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
- Millbay Academy Secondary
- Notre Dame RC School Secondary
- Plympton Academy Secondary
- Plymstock School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Plymouth High School for Girls teach?
- Plymouth High School for Girls teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Plymouth High School for Girls?
- The headteacher of Plymouth High School for Girls is Mr Simon Underdown, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Plymouth High School for Girls been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Plymouth High School for Girls, 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 Plymouth High School for Girls?
- Plymouth High School for Girls has 782 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Plymouth High School for Girls full?
- Plymouth High School for Girls has capacity for 804 pupils and 782 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Plymouth High School for Girls a faith school?
- No. Plymouth High School for Girls has no designated religious character.
- Is Plymouth High School for Girls a selective school?
- Yes. Plymouth High School for Girls is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Is Plymouth High School for Girls part of an academy trust?
- Plymouth High School for Girls is part of THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Plymouth High School for Girls's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 65.6 in 2022/23 and 65.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Plymouth High School for Girls compare with other schools in Plymouth?
- Plymouth High School for Girls ranked 3rd of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 96% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Plymouth High School for Girls's absence rate?
- Plymouth High School for Girls's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Plymouth High School for Girls's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Plymouth High School for Girls'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.