Marine Academy Plymouth Review 2026: A disciplined, improvement-focused 11–18 academy with a growing sixth form

Marine Academy Plymouth is an 11–18 state academy serving families in the St Budeaux and wider north Plymouth area, with a clear emphasis on raising expectations and building strong learning habits. The current principal is Mrs Jennifer Brimming, appointed in September 2024, following a period of leadership transition.

The latest full inspection judged the school Good across every area, including sixth form provision, with safeguarding confirmed as effective.

For families, the headline is trajectory. Standards and routines are described as more consistent than in the past, and the school’s curriculum is presented as carefully sequenced, with a stronger Key Stage 4 academic core than the school historically offered.

Expectations around manners, respect and day-to-day conduct are positioned as central to school culture, and that shows up in how the school describes its priorities: calm corridors, consistent routines, and a school day designed around punctuality and attendance.

Leadership is visible in the way the school frames personal development. The MAP Leadership Award runs from Year 7 through Year 13, structured in levels (Bronze through to a sixth form award) and designed to build independence and leadership through a set of tasks completed inside and outside school. The practical implication is helpful for pupils who respond well to clear goals and recognition, and for parents who want a coherent narrative beyond grades.

The school sits within The Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust, and trust input is presented as a meaningful part of the improvement story, particularly around curriculum design, staff support, and operational consistency.

Marine Academy Plymouth is a secondary school with sixth form, so outcomes matter at both Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5.

GCSE outcomes (headline measures)

Attainment 8 is 42.1 and Progress 8 is -0.35. EBacc average point score is 3.75, with 10.9% achieving grade 5 or above across the EBacc measure recorded here. (Figures shown are the most recent in the performance dataset used for this review.)

How it ranks

Ranked 2608th in England and 11th in Plymouth for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), performance sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

A-level outcomes (headline measures)

At A-level, 40% of grades are A*–B, with A* at 9.09%, A at 9.09% and B at 21.82%.

How it ranks

Ranked 1453rd in England and 7th in Plymouth for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), results also sit in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

The key context is that published outcomes can lag behind curriculum change. The most recent inspection describes an improved curriculum whose impact is becoming clearer in pupils’ work, but not yet fully reflected in published outcomes, in part because attendance gaps have disrupted learning for some pupils.

Parents comparing local schools should use the FindMySchool Local Hub to place these measures side by side, especially if Progress 8 is a key deciding factor for your child’s learning profile.

Curriculum structure is a major theme. The school describes its curriculum as ambitious, logically sequenced, and designed to build knowledge cumulatively across subjects. That matters most for pupils who benefit from clear progression, frequent recap, and deliberate practice rather than loosely connected topics.

At Key Stage 4, the English Baccalaureate is positioned as a central part of the offer, with most pupils studying a language and a humanities subject. The implication is straightforward: this suits pupils who are aiming for a broadly academic core and may keep options open for post-16 study, but it can feel less flexible for pupils who want earlier specialisation in more applied routes.

Teaching consistency is also highlighted through everyday practice, including routine recall and checking what pupils remember. Reading appears frequently in the school’s stated approach, with attention to building vocabulary and supporting pupils who need help with reading.

This school has a sixth form, so destinations split into two audiences: pupils leaving after Year 11, and students leaving after Year 13.

For post-16, the published admissions position is that the school runs Year 12 entry alongside internal progression. The external Year 12 published admission number is 50 for 2026 to 2027 entry, in addition to students staying on from Year 11.

For Year 13 leavers, official destination reporting for the 2023 to 2024 cohort shows: 43% progressed to university, 6% to further education, and 31% moved into employment (cohort size 35).

The practical takeaway is that progression routes look mixed rather than single-track. This can suit students who want a sixth form that supports different pathways, but families specifically seeking a highly selective university pipeline should ask for the most recent breakdown the school is willing to share at sixth form events.

Year 7 entry (September 2026 start)

Applications are handled through Plymouth’s coordinated admissions process. For the 2026 to 2027 intake, applications open on Wednesday 3 September 2025 and close on Friday 31 October 2025, with offers released on Monday 2 March 2026 and acceptance due by Monday 9 March 2026.

The school’s published admission number for Year 7 is 180 for 2026 to 2027 entry.

Open events are typically positioned early in the autumn term. In the 2025 cycle, the school advertised a September open evening plus weekly open mornings through late September and October. Dates change year to year, so families should treat the timing as a guide and check the school’s current listings.

A useful step before applying is to use the FindMySchool Map Search to understand your home-to-school proximity and compare it with how oversubscription tends to work locally, as distance-based criteria and sibling priority can materially affect outcomes.

Sixth form entry (Year 12, 2026 to 2027 entry)

The sixth form admissions policy for 2026 to 2027 includes clear academic entry expectations: a minimum grade 4 in English and Maths at GCSE, plus at least three other subjects at grade 5. Normal round applications run from 1 September to 31 January 2026, with decisions by 28 February 2026 (conditional on exam results).

The school also advertises sixth form open events, including a January open evening and open mornings through January, which can be particularly useful for external applicants deciding between sixth form and college routes.

Pastoral work is framed around clarity and consistency: strong behaviour management, predictable routines, and a sense that pupils can focus in lessons when the environment is settled.

Support for students with additional needs is presented as mainstream-first with targeted interventions, including enhanced transition work and specialist spaces for literacy and other small-group support. The implication for families is that the school expects pupils to access the full curriculum where possible, with structured help layered in rather than a separate track.

Attendance is a key pastoral priority. The school communicates punctual arrival expectations explicitly, and attendance improvement is positioned as central to learning gaps closing over time.

Personal development is structured, not left to chance.

One strand is the MAP Leadership Award, which gives pupils a staged set of tasks across Years 7–13, with recognition for progress through each level. For pupils who thrive on targets and milestones, this provides a clear route to building responsibility and confidence, and it can also help pupils who need a push to try new activities.

A second strand is outdoor and wider participation. The school states that all students participate in Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, and that enrichment sits within the weekly rhythm of school life rather than being an occasional add-on.

For pupils drawn to uniformed youth opportunities, Marine Academy Plymouth is also listed as the location for an RAF Air Cadets squadron in Plymouth, which may appeal to students looking for structured training, team activity and a strong peer group beyond school.

In sixth form, enrichment is timetabled on Wednesday afternoons and is described as including practical life and progression themes such as interview skills, CV support, study skills, and personal finance. The implication is a sixth form experience designed to build employability and application readiness alongside subject study.

The published school day for secondary starts with tutor time at 8:30am, and the core sessions run through to 2:50pm, with a mid-morning break and a lunch period. The school also states that gates close at 8:32am, signalling that punctuality is treated seriously.

Term dates are published online and include staged returns at the start of the autumn term, plus early finishes at the end of term on specific days. Families should check the school’s current calendar, especially around non-pupil days.

• Attendance remains a key improvement lever. The most recent inspection identifies attendance as the main barrier preventing some pupils from benefiting fully from the strengthened curriculum. That matters if your child is vulnerable to disengagement, or if your family is managing complex circumstances where attendance can be harder to stabilise.

• Curriculum ambition can feel demanding for some learners. A stronger Key Stage 4 academic core is a positive for many pupils, but it can suit confident learners more than pupils who would prefer earlier specialisation in more applied pathways.

• Leadership transition is recent. The principal appointment in September 2024 suggests a school continuing to evolve, which is positive when improvements are accelerating, but it also means policies and expectations may have changed quickly compared with older word-of-mouth impressions.

• Personal development breadth needs sustained depth. Formal observations highlight the need for pupils to have more opportunities to learn about and discuss different beliefs and cultures, which matters for families prioritising a broad civic and cultural education.

Marine Academy Plymouth is a school on a clear improvement trajectory, with consistent routines, a more coherent curriculum, and a personal development offer that is structured rather than optional. It is best suited to families who want a calm, orderly environment with rising expectations, and for pupils who benefit from clarity, consistency, and an academic core that keeps pathways open through to sixth form. The key question to explore is attendance and engagement, because that is where the school’s progress will translate most directly into outcomes.