A town in Cornwall
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, fewer than across England. Results at 11 are below England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Penzance at a glance
How Penzance'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.
5 mainstream schools in Penzance, best first
Results well above the England average.
33 first choices, 37 offers made
Met the standard at 1177%
England 62%
Results close to the England average.
13 first choices, 14 offers made
Met the standard at 1163%
England 62%
Results well below the England average.
31 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1147%
England 62%
2 mainstream schools in Penzance, best first
Results below the England average.
164 first choices, 166 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1641.7
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
116 first choices, 119 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1644.1
England 46.2
3 in Penzance, highest Ofsted grade first
Penzance, TR18 4JR · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Penzance, TR18 3PE · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Penzance, TR18 3JZ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
1 in Penzance, by the school's Eduscope score
Penzance, TR20 8TP · Academy · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
1 in Penzance. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Penzance, TR20 8TP · Academy · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
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 Penzance school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 2 inspected are Good or better.
3nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
67% Good or better. 56% met the standard at 11.
7schools
Ages 11 to 16
The one inspected is Good or better. 39% got grade 5 in English and maths.
4schools
The one inspected is Good or better. About 9 pupils per teacher.
1school
Here's how Penzance'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.
PenzanceEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 3 primaries with one.
67%
England 96%
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.
56%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
39%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
28%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
35%
Latest graded inspection for the 5 schools that have one.
80%
Good or Outstanding
Penzance in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
Penzance has 12 schools and nurseries.
There are 3% fewer pupils than in 2018.
35% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Penzance's state schools each January.
Down 3% since 2018.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Penzance35%
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.
Penzance has 12 schools, including 7 primary schools, 4 secondary schools, 3 nurseries, 1 special school. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Penzance on Eduscope are Alverton Primary School, Humphry Davy School, St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance. 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.
80% of inspected schools in Penzance hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 0 schools rated Outstanding and 4 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Penzance, 56% 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 Penzance is 16.3:1. 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 Penzance is 27.5%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 2,850 pupils enrolled across schools in Penzance, with 1,006 in primary and 1,844 in secondary. 32.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 12 schools in Penzance 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.
