Dawlish College Review 2026: A structured 11–16 secondary with strong transition support and broad KS4 choice

A secondary school can feel like a big leap at 11. Here, that change is managed deliberately, with a daily “Warm Welcome” built into the timetable and a clear focus on readiness for learning from the start of the day.

Dawlish College educates students aged 11 to 16, and it is part of Ivy Education Trust. The school’s published capacity is 900.

Academically, the headline indicator is its GCSE ranking position: ranked 3,123rd in England for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and ranked 1st in the Dawlish local area. That places outcomes below England average overall (bottom 40% band).

The school day begins with a clear routine. “Warm Welcome” runs from 8:00, followed by a warning bell and then lessons, which signals a culture that values punctuality and a calm start rather than a rushed dash from the gate.

Pastoral systems are designed to remove barriers early. Students are encouraged to surface worries promptly, and staff aim to resolve issues before learning starts, which matters in a coastal town where students may be arriving from several primary schools and a wider catchment. The tone is purposeful rather than performative, with a consistent message that learning time should be protected.

Leadership is stable and visible in the school’s published communications. The headteacher is Sam Banks. The school’s stated mission, “to eradicate educational disadvantage in Dawlish”, frames many of its choices, including the emphasis on literacy, participation, and broad access to enrichment rather than limiting opportunities to a narrow group.

Behaviour expectations appear to be explicit and enforced. A sharper approach can be a positive for families who want clear boundaries, but it also means students who struggle with compliance may need careful pastoral planning and consistent home-school partnership to succeed.

The most useful single benchmark is the FindMySchool GCSE ranking position. Ranked 3,123rd in England and 1st in Dawlish for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), performance sits below England average overall (bottom 40% band).

On attainment measures, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 40.6. In the EBacc suite, the school’s average EBacc APS is 3.43. Progress 8 is -0.09, which indicates students, on average, made slightly less progress than peers nationally from similar starting points (where 0 is the England baseline).

The practical implication is that families should see this as a school where routines and curriculum design matter, because outcomes depend heavily on consistent learning habits over five years. For students with good attendance, steady homework habits, and prompt use of support, the curriculum model is designed to build knowledge sequentially, with literacy running through all subjects rather than sitting only in English.

Curriculum thinking is unusually explicit for a state 11–16 school. The school frames its approach around “participation” and asks three guiding questions, including whether content is ambitious and how reading and literacy are promoted across subjects. For parents, this is helpful because it signals a knowledge-led stance, with an emphasis on sequenced learning and subject vocabulary.

Key Stage 3 runs over three years (Years 7 to 9), delivered on a two-week timetable (Week A and Week B). The published model sets out lesson allocations by subject across the three years, including Modern Foreign Languages (French or Spanish), and dedicated time for Co-Core and Co-Elective sessions. That structure matters because it creates protected space for personal development and wider experiences without squeezing the academic core.

Key Stage 4 is two years (Years 10 and 11). Students choose four option subjects alongside core English, maths, science, PE, Religious Studies and personal development. EBacc is encouraged, including the typical components (English, maths, science, a humanity, and a modern foreign language), but it is not compulsory.

A distinctive operational choice is the options process. The school states it avoids pre-set option blocks, aiming instead for “free choice” so students can build an individual portfolio of subjects. Done well, this is a genuine advantage for students with clear strengths or career intentions, because it reduces the chance that a student must drop a preferred subject due to timetable architecture. The trade-off is that it requires careful guidance, because freedom of choice only helps if students select a balanced mix that keeps post-16 routes open.

Because the school finishes at 16, “next steps” planning has to begin earlier than in schools with a sixth form. The school’s published provider access information indicates that students have been exposed to a range of post-16 routes and providers, including Exeter College, Newton Abbot College Sixth Form, Teignmouth Community School Sixth Form, South Devon College, Bicton College, and UTC Newton Abbot.

This mix is useful for families, because it includes both A-level style routes and technical pathways. It also aligns with the statutory expectation that students should receive impartial information about apprenticeships and technical education as well as academic routes.

In practice, families should treat Year 10 and early Year 11 as the key window to lock down realistic options. If a student wants A-levels, subject selection at GCSE matters. If they are leaning towards a technical route, early exposure through visits and provider sessions can reduce anxiety and improve decision quality.

Applications for Year 7 entry are coordinated by Devon County Council, not the school. For September 2026 entry, the application window ran from 1 September 2025 to 31 October 2025, and national offer day in Devon was 2 March 2026.

The published admissions policy sets the PAN (Published Admission Number) for 2026–27 at 150 for Year 7. Where applications exceed places, the admission authority ranks applications against published oversubscription criteria, and it also describes how appeals and waiting lists operate.

Transition is treated as a programme, not a single event. The school describes a series of experiences across Years 5 and 6, plus an induction evening in the summer term, aimed at making the site and routines familiar before September. For families, this is a practical strength, especially for students who need extra time to settle socially.

Pastoral care is built into the timetable and reinforced through daily routines. The school day includes a dedicated personal development lesson and time for Co-Core and Co-Elective sessions, which allows wellbeing, relationships, and wider life skills to be addressed systematically rather than only reactively.

Support for students with special educational needs is framed as mainstream-first, with staff adapting learning and a stated aim of preparing students for adult life beyond education. The SEND documentation also describes practical supports such as a safe space, social skills groups, literacy and numeracy interventions, and structured transition arrangements, which can be highly relevant for families weighing the move from primary.

For families, the key question is consistency. Students who benefit most are those whose home routines support punctuality, attendance, and steady engagement, because the school’s model is designed around cumulative knowledge and predictable habits.

Enrichment here is strongly linked to participation and community contribution rather than only performance badges. A good example is the school’s work with Citizens UK on a road safety campaign, which involved students meeting local decision-makers and seeking tangible changes around the local area. For students who do not naturally see themselves as “club joiners”, this kind of civic project can be a more accessible route into leadership, teamwork, and public speaking.

The timetable also makes space for wider activity through Co-Elective sessions, and governors’ minutes refer to elective lessons embedded within the middle of the day rather than pushed entirely into after-school slots. That design choice matters for equity, because it reduces the impact of transport constraints that often stop students staying late.

Targeted and supportive activities are also visible in published inclusion documents. Examples include Homework Club, specialist clubs including the Gardening Project, and board games sessions in the Safe Space, alongside structured social skills groups. This suggests the school treats co-curricular life as a tool for belonging and regulation, not just recreation.

Outdoor education appears to include adventurous activity, with the visits policy explicitly referencing staff-led activities such as Ten Tors and kayaking under appropriate risk assessment and approval processes. For students who thrive outside the classroom, these experiences can become an important motivator and a real confidence builder.

The published school day runs from Warm Welcome at 8:00 to the end of day at 3:35, with six lessons and two breaks.

Admissions are LA-coordinated, and families should plan transport early. The school notes that students who live in the catchment area and are more than three miles away by the shortest walking route may be eligible for free transport through Devon County Council, subject to the LA’s criteria.

There is no nursery provision and no sixth form on site, so entry is at Year 7 and progression at 16 is into external post-16 providers.

• Outcomes sit below England average overall. The GCSE ranking position (3,123rd in England) places results in the bottom 40% band. Families with highly academic students should look closely at subject-level fit and the student’s ability to self-manage revision and homework.

• No sixth form, so there is a hard transition at 16. This suits students ready for a fresh start at college or a new sixth form, but it can feel disruptive for those who would rather stay in one setting through to 18.

• A stricter behaviour stance may not suit everyone. The school has made expectations clearer, and this has been associated with a rise in suspensions followed by an early sign of reduction as routines bed in. Families should ask how behaviour support works for students with anxiety, attention needs, or poor prior attendance.

• KS4 choice is flexible, which is an advantage if well guided. The absence of rigid option blocks can help students keep preferred combinations, but it also places more weight on the quality of advice at GCSE selection time.

Dawlish College is a clearly structured 11–16 school, with an explicit curriculum framework and an admissions and transition programme designed to make Year 7 manageable. The timetable, options model, and community-facing projects point to a school that takes participation seriously, both academically and socially.

Best suited to students who benefit from predictable routines, clear expectations, and a curriculum that builds knowledge steadily over five years, and to families planning early for the post-16 move. For shortlisting, it is worth using FindMySchool’s Comparison Tool to benchmark outcomes against other realistic local options, and Map Search to understand travel practicality.