St Ives School, St. Ives Review 2026: A small 11 to 16 comprehensive with strong personal development and a clear house culture

St Ives School is an 11 to 16, mixed, state-funded secondary serving St Ives and nearby villages. It is part of Truro and Penwith Academy Trust and the current academy opened on 1 April 2014.

Leadership has been stable since September 2022, when Mr Simon Horner took up the headship. The most recent Ofsted inspection (30 November and 1 December 2022) confirmed the school continues to be Good, with effective safeguarding.

For families, the practical headline is that this is a non-selective local secondary with no tuition fees, a published Year 7 admission number of 120, and admissions co-ordinated through Cornwall Council.

A key strength here is the clarity of expectations. Pupils are expected to behave well in lessons and at social times, and the tone is calm, with low-level disruption described as rare. That matters for learning, but it also matters for families who want a school day that feels orderly rather than hectic, especially at a smaller secondary where pupils tend to know each other quickly.

The school’s values, including kindness and respect, sit at the centre of its public narrative and are reflected in how pupils describe feeling accepted. For many children, that combination of predictable routines and social safety is what makes the step up from primary manageable.

The house system is unusually distinctive in its local identity. Pupils belong to one of four houses, Norves, Ayr, Tan and Dowr, drawn from Cornish language terms for the elements, and linked explicitly to body, spirit, heart and mind. In practice, this gives the school a ready-made structure for recognition, leadership roles and inter-house activity. It is also a useful framework for pupils who respond well to clear goals, points, and short-cycle rewards for effort.

FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking places St Ives School in the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile) for GCSE outcomes, which translates as solid performance relative to the national picture. Ranked 2,367th in England and 2nd in the St. Ives area for GCSEs (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the school sits competitively within its immediate local context.

The underlying measures point to a broadly steady profile. Attainment 8 is 45.9 and Progress 8 is -0.12, which indicates progress that is close to, but slightly below, the England average benchmark of zero. EBacc average point score is 3.91, compared with an England average of 4.08. These are best read as a school that delivers reliably for many pupils, while continuing to work on consistency across subjects.

A helpful way to interpret this is to think in terms of “no weak links”. When a school’s progress score is slightly negative, the priority is typically not a wholesale redesign, it is tightening the quality of delivery so that pupils do not experience uneven teaching or gaps in curriculum coverage. That theme aligns with the most recent inspection’s emphasis on curriculum consistency.

Curriculum planning is a clear positive. The curriculum is described as broad and balanced, with subject leaders having a clear sense of the knowledge pupils should learn and the order in which it should be taught. For parents, this tends to show up in predictable lesson sequences, clearer revision pathways at GCSE, and pupils being able to articulate what they have covered.

The improvement area is delivery consistency. In some subjects, implementation is not consistent, which can leave pupils with gaps in knowledge. That is worth weighing if your child is highly sensitive to teacher variability, or if they rely on strong scaffolding to stay confident. The practical question to ask on a visit is how the school supports consistency, for example through shared resources, coaching, and common assessment.

Reading support exists, particularly for pupils who need additional help to become fluent, but the wider reading-for-pleasure culture is not yet where leaders want it. For some families that will be a prompt to bolster reading habits at home, while for others it will be encouraging that literacy is being addressed directly rather than ignored.

Where Students Go Next

With no sixth form, the key transition is post-16. The school’s careers programme is designed to help pupils make informed choices, including understanding workplace stereotypes, developing employability skills, and completing a short period of work experience in Year 10.

In practical terms, many local pupils in West Cornwall will look to further education and sixth form options in the wider area. The school has previously circulated information about post-16 open events for colleges including Truro and Penwith College (for example Penwith College) and Cornwall College. If your child is aiming for a more academic A-level route, you will want to discuss subject availability and travel time early. If your child is leaning towards technical pathways, ask how the school supports encounters with providers, apprenticeships and technical education, particularly in Years 9 to 11.

Because published leaver-destination percentages are not available here, the best way to judge pathways is qualitative. Ask what proportion typically go to A-level study versus vocational routes, and how the school supports pupils who are undecided late in Year 11.

For September 2026 entry into Year 7, applications are made through Cornwall Council, not directly to the school. The on-time deadline is 31 October 2025, with National Offer Day on 2 March 2026. Cornwall also sets out a clear late-application timetable, including a second round up to 6 March 2026, with outcomes issued by 3 April 2026.

The school’s published admission number for Year 7 is 120 for 2026 to 2027. The trust admissions arrangements also confirm that applications for Year 7 are made via the home local authority, and that there is no supplementary information form required by the trust. In an oversubscription situation, allocations follow the published oversubscription criteria, after placements for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school and children in care.

If you are weighing likelihood of a place, be cautious about relying on historical distance anecdotes. Distance cut-offs vary annually and, for this school, a specific “last distance offered” figure is not published in the data available here. The most reliable approach is to read the current admissions arrangements carefully and confirm how designated areas and tie-breaks operate for your address.

FindMySchool’s Map Search is useful at this stage, because it allows families to check the practical reality of distance and local alternatives before the deadline, rather than relying on informal guidance.

Pastoral support is structured around tutors who stay with students through their time at the school, with daily morning tutor sessions in dedicated tutor rooms. The intent is broader than administration. The programme is designed to build literacy, general knowledge, cultural capital, and wellbeing habits, alongside recognising attendance and achievement.

Wellbeing is not treated as an occasional add-on. The tutorial programme explicitly references the “Five Ways to Well-being”, Connect, Give, Learn, Take notice, and Be Active, and cycles through weekly themes such as managing anxiety, managing panic attacks, gratitude journalling and celebrating diversity. That level of specificity is helpful for parents because it signals a consistent language for wellbeing across year groups, rather than leaving it to individual form tutors.

Additional support includes a safe space for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, described as The Harbour. That matters if your child benefits from a predictable “reset” space during a busy day, or if social times can be challenging.

Enrichment is a genuine pillar. The school runs a termly programme that encourages pupils to try new pursuits, with examples including astronomy, British sign language and lakeside fishing. This is the kind of provision that can make school feel broader than GCSE preparation, particularly for pupils whose confidence grows when they find a niche outside the classroom.

The published clubs offer for Spring Term 2026 gives a good sense of breadth and specificity. Eco Club is framed as student-led and includes practical projects such as litter picks and creating a Tiny Forest. The Duke of Edinburgh club and related support sessions focus on expedition planning and completing the award requirements.

Performing arts are also visible in the week-to-week offer. The clubs list includes Band Practice and rehearsals for a production of Oliver Jr., alongside a KS3 Drama club focused on devising theatre, scripts and public performance. For many families, this is the practical difference between “there is drama” and “drama happens every week”.

There is also a strong academic-support strand, including Home Learning Support in the library on multiple days after school, and a set of GCSE intervention sessions in subjects such as History, French, Film Studies, Design and Technology and English. If your child benefits from guided homework routines, this can reduce evening stress at home and make learning habits more sustainable across Year 10 and Year 11.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Families should budget for the usual extras, such as uniform, equipment, optional trips, and any chargeable enrichment where materials are required.

The school publishes the total weekly taught time as 32 hours and 5 minutes, but daily start and finish times are not clearly set out on the same page. Parents should confirm the current daily timings directly, particularly if transport arrangements depend on a specific bus or train connection.

For travel, St Ives and the surrounding area are served by local road links and public transport connections into the town. In practice, families often weigh convenience against the realities of peak-season congestion in West Cornwall, so it is worth trialling the journey at the time you would actually travel.

• Consistency across subjects. Curriculum intent is clear, but delivery is not yet consistent in every subject, which can leave some pupils with gaps. This matters most for pupils who lose confidence quickly when teaching approaches vary.

• Reading culture still developing. Support exists for pupils who need help becoming fluent readers, but the wider habit of reading widely for pleasure is not yet embedded. Families who value reading may want to reinforce this at home.

• No sixth form. Post-16 progression is a significant transition, so pupils benefit from exploring options early and attending open events in Year 10 and Year 11.

• High season practicalities. St Ives can be logistically challenging at certain times of year, so transport plans should be realistic, especially for after-school clubs and intervention sessions.

St Ives School suits families seeking a local 11 to 16 comprehensive with clear expectations for behaviour, a structured tutorial and wellbeing programme, and an enrichment offer that goes beyond the basics. The strongest fit is for pupils who do well with predictable routines and who are likely to engage in clubs, student leadership, or outdoor and creative opportunities.

The main decision point is not whether there is breadth, there is. It is whether the school’s current push for consistent curriculum delivery aligns with what your child needs to thrive across every subject, not only their favourites.