The Promise School
Wardhayes, Simmons Way, Okehampton, EX20 1PU
This school is open but due to close.
- Phase
- Free Schools
- School type
- Free schools special
- Ages
- 4 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- DARTMOOR MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Quentin Gunderson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Central Devon
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 100
- Pupils on roll
- 79
- URN
- 149041
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01837510337
About this school
The Promise School is a special academy in Okehampton. It teaches children aged 4 to 16 and has 79 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Inadequate
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Inadequate
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Inadequate
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: special measures.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | - | - | 15% |
| Expected standard in maths | - | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - | - | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | 92.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | 90.0 |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 12 |
| Attainment 8 score | 4.5 |
| Progress 8 score | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.2 |
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 The Promise 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 35.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 30.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 34 |
| 2023/24 | 46 |
| 2024/25 | 79 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 68.35%
- English as an additional language
- 2.5%
- Overall absence
- 30.76%
- Persistent absence
- 75.9%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Acorn School9.0 miles
Special schools · Winkleigh
-
Running Deer School10.8 miles
Special schools · Moretonhampstead
-
Shebbear College12.6 miles
Independent schools · Beaworthy
-
Okehampton College0.1 miles
Secondary · Okehampton
-
Okehampton Primary School and Foundation Unit0.5 miles
Primary · Okehampton
Other schools in Okehampton
- The Promise School Free Schools
- Boasley Cross Community Primary School Primary
- Bridestowe Primary School Primary
- Exbourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hatherleigh Community Primary School Primary
- Lew Trenchard Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lydford Primary School Primary
- Northlew and Ashbury Parochial Church of England Primary School Primary
- Okehampton Primary School and Foundation Unit Primary
- South Tawton Primary School Primary
- St James Church of England Primary and Nursery School Primary
- The Clinton Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Promise School teach?
- The Promise School teaches children aged 4 to 16. It is a special school in Okehampton.
- Who is the headteacher of The Promise School?
- The headteacher of The Promise School is Mr Quentin Gunderson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Promise School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Promise 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 The Promise School?
- The Promise School has 79 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 16.
- Is The Promise School a faith school?
- No. The Promise School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Promise School a selective school?
- No. The Promise School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Promise School?
- The Promise School 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.
- What SEN provision does The Promise School have?
- The schools register lists The Promise School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is The Promise School's absence rate?
- The Promise School's overall absence rate is 30.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Promise School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Promise 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.