Humphry Davy School Review 2026: Music-centred comprehensive with a strong community feel

A secondary school where students describe feeling safe and well cared for, and where music still sits at the heart of the school’s identity. The most recent inspection (4 and 5 May 2023) judged the school Good across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

Humphry Davy serves Years 7 to 11 in Penzance, with a published capacity of 840 places. The school is part of The Penwith Education Trust, and its curriculum is framed as rooted in local context, with links to employers and a clear focus on next steps after Year 11.

Humphry Davy’s strongest feature is the tone it sets for day-to-day relationships. Students report feeling safe, happy, and supported; staff-student relationships are described as warm and respectful, and the culture is presented as inclusive, with bullying not tolerated.

That inclusivity matters in practical ways. A school can say it values belonging, but it is harder to make it show up consistently in corridors, classrooms, and social time. Here, behaviour is framed as generally calm, with poor behaviour described as rare, and students showing pride in the school and its place in the local community. The implication for families is straightforward: students who need a school that prioritises safety, dignity, and predictability are likely to find the culture reassuring.

Music is not presented as an add-on. It is repeatedly positioned as central to the ethos, and as something every student engages with during their time at the school. That creates a particular identity. For some students, music provides a reliable “place to belong”, whether through ensemble participation, performance, or simply being in a school where creative life is treated as normal. For others who are less drawn to performing arts, the key question is whether they are comfortable in a setting where music is a visible pillar of school life.

There is also a clear sense of a long local history. The school’s origins sit in the early twentieth century, with the earlier Penzance County School building completed in 1909 and opening in January 1910. For families, that heritage can translate into a stable community identity and strong local recognition, which can be useful when students build confidence through familiarity and continuity.

This is a school with mixed indicators across different measures, and it is important to read them together rather than in isolation.

Rankings context (FindMySchool)

Ranked 2783rd in England and 2nd in Penzance for GCSE outcomes, this performance sits below England average overall, placing it in the lower band nationally. These are proprietary FindMySchool rankings based on official data.

Attainment and progress

The Attainment 8 score is 42.2. Progress 8 is -0.27, which indicates students, on average, make less progress than pupils with similar starting points nationally.

EBacc measures

The proportion achieving grades 5 or above in the English Baccalaureate is 8.1. The average EBacc points score is 3.55, compared with an England average of 4.08. The proportion of pupils entering the EBacc is 40.5 nationally, which is a useful reference point when thinking about how much EBacc is embedded into the mainstream curriculum offer.

All performance metrics and ranking figures above are drawn from the FindMySchool dataset.

What this means for families is that outcomes may feel variable by student profile and subject mix. Where teaching is well aligned to curriculum intent, students can do well, but the progress measure suggests inconsistency in translating plans into classroom impact for all learners. A sensible next step for prospective families is to use the FindMySchool local area hub and comparison tools to benchmark these figures against other nearby secondary options on a like-for-like basis.

The curriculum is presented as broad and increasingly ambitious, and it is deliberately rooted in local context. That rootedness is not just branding. It is linked to partnerships with local employers, and a stated aim of preparing students well for what comes after Year 11. The practical implication is that learning is more likely to feel relevant, especially for students who engage best when they can see how subjects connect to real communities and working life.

A significant strength sits in support for students with additional needs. Identification of special educational needs and disabilities is described as effective, with teachers provided with information that helps them adapt teaching, and students with SEND described as very well supported. For families with a child who needs reliable classroom adjustments and staff who understand how to implement them consistently, that is a meaningful indicator.

Reading is treated as a school-wide priority, with an explicit mentoring programme that includes ambitious texts and vocabulary development, alongside targeted catch-up support for students who have fallen behind. The “why” here is important: a structured approach to reading supports access to the wider curriculum, and often underpins improvement across humanities, sciences, and extended writing.

The main area to watch is consistency, especially earlier in the school. While curriculum intent is described as clear in most subjects, there is also a stated need to ensure an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum is delivered consistently to all students, so that knowledge builds securely over time. For parents, this is a prompt to ask specific questions at open events: how the school is strengthening curriculum sequencing in Key Stage 3, how subject leaders check impact, and what support exists for students who need re-teaching to close gaps.

With education running through Year 11, the central transition is post-16. Careers education is described as a strength, with personalised guidance, visits from local colleges, and trips to universities, helping students make informed choices about next steps.

A practical feature is the Year 10 work experience placement, which students speak positively about as a first meaningful contact with the world of work. For many families, work experience is where confidence rises sharply, particularly for students who thrive on applied learning and want to test ideas about vocational routes, apprenticeships, or sector interests before committing to a post-16 pathway.

The school also operates within the provider access requirements, which are designed to ensure students receive information about technical education and apprenticeships, not only sixth form routes. The implication is that families should expect a pathway conversation that includes multiple options, and should ask how the school supports students who want a technical or apprenticeship route, including what employer engagement looks like for those choices.

Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated by Cornwall Council under the normal admissions round. For September 2026 entry (current Year 6), the published deadline for secondary applications in Cornwall is 31 October 2025, with allocations issued on National Offer Day, 02 March 2026. Applications open from 01 September 2025 via the Cornwall online admissions portal.

Because the school is a foundation school within The Penwith Education Trust, families should still read the school’s published admissions arrangements carefully, including oversubscription criteria, sibling definitions, and how any tie-breaks operate. The safest approach is to treat admissions as a two-part task: follow Cornwall’s coordinated process precisely, and cross-check the school’s own admissions documentation so you understand how places are prioritised if the year group is oversubscribed.

Where distance becomes a factor, precision matters. Families shortlisting multiple options can use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check measured distance and compare it with the last distance offered where that information is available for a given school and year. (This dataset does not include a last distance offered figure for this school, so families should rely on the local authority’s allocations information and the school’s admissions criteria when modelling realistic chances.)

Pastoral support appears to be structured around relationships and clear expectations. Students are described as enjoying school, feeling safe, and valuing respectful relationships with teachers. That matters because, in practice, wellbeing is often less about stand-alone programmes and more about whether students trust staff, feel listened to, and experience predictable boundaries.

Safeguarding is presented as a cultural strength, with detailed reporting and record-keeping and strong engagement with external safeguarding partners when support is needed. For families, the best due diligence is still to ask how safeguarding concerns are raised by students, how quickly families are contacted, and how pastoral and safeguarding teams coordinate with teachers day to day.

Mental and physical health, and healthy relationships, sit explicitly within personal development content. This is most valuable when it is integrated into routine school life, not treated as a one-off theme week, so parents may want to ask how these themes are reinforced across year groups.

Extracurricular life is framed around participation and experience, not only elite performance. Many students take part in activities and sports clubs, alongside creative, musical, and sporting opportunities. The key point is not the breadth of the menu, but that co-curricular engagement is presented as normal and accessible.

Three named elements stand out as clear pillars. First, music is described as central to ethos, and participation in music is positioned as something all students experience during their time at the school. The implication is that students who gain confidence through rehearsals, performance cycles, or structured creative practice have a built-in route to belonging.

Second, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has strong take-up, with a significant number of students completing it. This is an unusually useful programme for personal development because it combines sustained commitment with practical skills and teamwork. It also tends to suit students who may not see themselves as “sporty” but enjoy challenge, hiking, or volunteering.

Third, trips and community-linked projects are positioned as part of widening experience, with regional, national, and international trips, plus creative arts projects that connect students to the local community. For parents, the question to ask is how these experiences are funded and made accessible, especially for families managing budgets carefully.

This is a Penzance-based secondary school that draws families from across the local area, so transport planning matters. For many, the practical baseline is local bus routes and access via Penzance transport links, plus realistic journey-time planning at peak school travel times.

The school’s published site context includes dedicated playing fields, referenced in local planning documentation. Families who place a high value on outdoor sport and structured physical education should ask how the timetable and clubs use those facilities across the week.

Start and finish times, and any breakfast or after-school provision for older students, should be confirmed directly with the school, as they can change year to year based on transport patterns, staffing, and timetable design.

• Progress measures are a concern. A Progress 8 score of -0.27 indicates lower than average progress from starting points. Families should ask how the school is strengthening Key Stage 3 sequencing and catch-up, and how it targets improvement for students who are not yet securing strong foundations across subjects.

• EBacc outcomes are low. With 8.1 achieving grades 5 or above in the EBacc and an EBacc APS of 3.55 against an England average of 4.08, families who prioritise a strongly academic EBacc pathway should ask about subject entry patterns, EBacc encouragement, and what support is provided to keep options open.

• No sixth form on site. Transition at 16 is a major change point. Students will need strong guidance on post-16 routes, travel, and course fit. The careers programme and work experience are positives, but families should still start post-16 planning early.

• Consistency is the key question. The school is described as ambitious, inclusive, and supportive, but also as still improving how consistently curriculum intent becomes strong classroom practice, particularly in Key Stage 3. Families should probe how leadership checks impact and supports subject development.

Humphry Davy School presents as an inclusive, community-facing comprehensive with music as a defining feature and a strong emphasis on student experience, relationships, and safety. The academic picture is mixed, with a below-average progress measure and low EBacc indicators, set against a broadly positive culture and clear investment in careers guidance and wider opportunities.

Who it suits: families looking for a supportive, inclusive 11 to 16 school where music, enrichment, and community links play a central role, and where students benefit from strong relationships and structured guidance into post-16 choices.