Dartmouth Academy

Dartmouth Academy is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in all key areas, including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The small, all-through school fosters a welcoming environment where pupils feel happy and engaged, and they develop strong relationships with staff and peers. The school has implemented a well-sequenced curriculum with a range of extracurricular opportunities, preparing pupils for future educational pathways. However, some subject curricula at key stage 3 are still being developed, leading to inconsistencies in curriculum sequencing.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between pupils and staff
• Broad range of extracurricular clubs and activities
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Ambitious preparation for key stage 4 and post-16 pathways
• Systematic reading programme for early learners
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils in early reading become overly dependent on support
• Curriculum sequencing in some subjects at the end of key stage 3 is not fully in place

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Dartmouth Academy attended 91.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 9.7% of pupils at Dartmouth Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Dartmouth Academy had 20.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.7% of pupils at Dartmouth Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Dartmouth Academy received £7,931 and spent £8,389 for each of its 442 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £241,000 (£546 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of Education South West, income was £7,824 and spending £7,754 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in South Hams · Devon local authority: places and applications

Dartmouth Academy is part of Education South West, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Stoke Fleming Community Primary School Dartmouth
• Blackawton Primary School Totnes
• East Allington Primary School Totnes
• King Edward VI Community College Totnes
• Kingsbridge Primary School Kingsbridge
• Kingsbridge Academy Kingsbridge
• South Devon UTC Newton Abbot
• Coombeshead Academy Newton Abbot
• Teign School Newton Abbot
• Rydon Primary School Newton Abbot

What is Dartmouth Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dartmouth Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

When was Dartmouth Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Dartmouth Academy was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does Dartmouth Academy have?

Dartmouth Academy has 435 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dartmouth Academy cover?

Dartmouth Academy for pupils aged 3 to 19.

What are Dartmouth Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.7, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are Dartmouth Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Dartmouth Academy?

Dartmouth Academy is at Milton Lane, Dartmouth, Devon, TQ6 9HW.