A town in Devon
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are below England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Barnstaple at a glance
How Barnstaple's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
9 mainstream schools in Barnstaple, best first
Results well below the England average.
62 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1152%
England 62%
Results close to the England average.
Met the standard at 1163%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
22 first choices, 22 offers made
Met the standard at 1179%
England 62%
2 mainstream schools in Barnstaple, best first
Results close to the England average.
252 first choices, 252 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.5
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
199 first choices, 199 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1642.8
England 46.2
8 in Barnstaple, highest Ofsted grade first
Barnstaple, EX32 9BD · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Barnstaple, EX31 1LG · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Barnstaple, EX31 2HJ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
2 in Barnstaple, by the school's Eduscope score
Barnstaple, EX31 3UD · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Barnstaple, EX31 1JU · Special · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
3 in Barnstaple. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Barnstaple, EX31 3UD · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Barnstaple, EX31 1JU · Special · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Barnstaple, EX32 9DD · Academy · All-through · Ages 5 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
1 in Barnstaple. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Barnstaple, EX31 3UD · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Your home council handles your application, wherever the school is. Living nearby doesn't guarantee a place: each school's admission rules decide.
Pick a stage to see every Barnstaple school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 8 inspected are Good or better.
8nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 54% met the standard at 11.
13schools
Ages 11 to 16
The one inspected is Good or better. 46% got grade 5 in English and maths.
6schools
All 3 inspected are Good or better. About 7 pupils per teacher.
3schools
Here's how Barnstaple's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
Worked out by Eduscope from each school's published figures. Not an official statistic for this town.
BarnstapleEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 5 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
1 of the 1 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
54%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
46%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
24%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
33%
Latest graded inspection for the 9 schools that have one.
100%
Good or Outstanding
Barnstaple in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
Barnstaple has 23 schools and nurseries.
There are 8% more pupils than in 2018.
33% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Barnstaple's state schools each January.
Up 8% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Barnstaple33%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Barnstaple has 23 schools, including 13 primary schools, 6 secondary schools, 8 nurseries, 1 independent school, 3 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Barnstaple on Eduscope are Newport Community School Primary Academy, The Park Community School, Pilton Bluecoat Church of England Academy. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
100% of inspected schools in Barnstaple hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 0 schools rated Outstanding and 9 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Barnstaple, 54% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Barnstaple is 16.5:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Barnstaple is 23.5%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 5,419 pupils enrolled across schools in Barnstaple, with 2,425 in primary and 2,994 in secondary. 30.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There is 1 independent school in Barnstaple, a special school for children with special educational needs, where councils usually pay the fees. You can compare it on Eduscope, including inspection reports where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 23 schools in Barnstaple by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
