Hele's School

Hele's School continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school. Pupils show pride in their school and demonstrate positive attitudes towards learning, largely due to the high expectations set by leaders. The school offers a broad curriculum and a variety of extracurricular activities. However, ongoing changes to the curriculum have resulted in some gaps in knowledge for pupils in Years 8 and 9, which leaders are aware of and are planning to address. The school's commitment to support and safeguard its students has been recognized positively by parents and staff alike.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate pride in their school and respect for their peers.
• There is a wide range of extracurricular activities that engage students.
• Leaders have developed a well-structured and ambitious curriculum.
• Teachers provide strong support tailored to the needs of pupils with SEND.
• The school has effective safeguarding measures in place.
• The careers programme is comprehensive and well-implemented.

Areas for Improvement

• Gaps in knowledge for pupils in Years 8 and 9 due to curriculum changes.
• Increased workload for staff due to the curriculum development process.

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 Hele's School attended 92.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.8% 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, 5.7% of pupils at Hele's School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Hele's School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.6% 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, 12.3% of pupils at Hele's School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.4% 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 Hele's School received £7,321 and spent £7,219 for each of its 1,393 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £60,000 (£43 per pupil).

Across all 31 schools of Westcountry Schools Trust, income was £7,571 and spending £7,467 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 Plymouth · Plymouth local authority: places and applications

Hele's School is part of Westcountry Schools Trust, which runs 31 schools. The nearest others:

• Boringdon Primary School Plymouth
• Woodford Primary School Plymouth
• Plympton St Maurice Primary School Plymouth
• Chaddlewood Primary School Plymouth
• Glen Park Primary School Plymouth
• Austin Farm Academy Plymouth
• Sherford Vale School & Nursery Sherford
• Morley Meadow Primary School Plymouth
• Plymstock School Plymouth
• Eggbuckland Community College Plymouth

What is Hele's School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hele's School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Hele's School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hele's School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Hele's School have?

Hele's School has 1,378 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hele's School cover?

Hele's School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Hele's School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 52.4, and 64% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Hele's School?

Hele's School is at Seymour Road, Plympton, Plymouth, Devon, PL7 4LT.