Mounts Bay Academy

Mounts Bay Academy is performing with strong standards, demonstrating effective leadership and a commitment to creating an inclusive school environment. The safeguarding practices are robust, ensuring that students feel safe and valued. The school has established supportive relationships with the community, which has facilitated improvements in attendance and behavior, despite challenges with persistent absence among certain student groups. The leadership team is proactive in addressing historical issues related to student achievement and is supported by a new multi-academy trust, ensuring a structured approach to continual improvement. However, some areas require attention, particularly regarding the achievement levels, as the outcomes for students have been below national averages for an extended period. While the curriculum is broad and well-structured, inconsistencies in teaching quality and assessment practices mean not all students are achieving their potential. Leaders are aware of these challenges and are implementing strategies to enhance teaching quality and learning outcomes.

Strengths

• Effective safeguarding practices ensuring students feel safe and valued.
• Proactive leadership that focuses on inclusive education.
• Strong relationships with students, parents, and carers.
• Extensive extra-curricular offerings that promote student engagement.
• Comprehensive personal development and wellbeing curriculum.
• Successful use of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Disadvantaged pupils' achievement is significantly below national averages.
• Inconsistent teaching quality across the school.
• Variable progress from students' starting points.
• High rates of persistent absence among vulnerable pupils.

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 Mounts Bay Academy attended 90.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.9% 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, 12.3% of pupils at Mounts Bay Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 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 Mounts Bay Academy had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.5% 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, 17.8% of pupils at Mounts Bay Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.4% 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 Mounts Bay Academy received £8,490 and spent £8,431 for each of its 976 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £432,000 (£443 per pupil).

Across all 41 schools of Truro & Penwith Academy Trust, income was £7,781 and spending £7,890 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 Penzance · Cornwall local authority: places and applications

Mounts Bay Academy is part of Truro & Penwith Academy Trust, which runs 41 schools. The nearest others:

• Pensans Community Primary School Penzance
• Alverton Primary School Penzance
• Newlyn School Penzance
• Gulval School Penzance
• Mousehole School Penzance
• Ludgvan School Penzance
• Nancledra School Penzance
• St Buryan Primary School Penzance
• Pendeen School Penzance
• St Just Primary School Penzance

What is Mounts Bay Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mounts Bay Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was Mounts Bay Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Mounts Bay Academy was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does Mounts Bay Academy have?

Mounts Bay Academy has 922 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mounts Bay Academy cover?

Mounts Bay Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Mounts Bay Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.1, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Mounts Bay Academy?

Mounts Bay Academy is at Boscathnoe Lane, Heamoor, Penzance, Cornwall, TR18 3JT.