Honiton Community College

Honiton Community College has improved since its previous inspection and is now judged good across all key areas. The Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust has provided effective support to raise ambition and develop a well-organised curriculum, and pupils are achieving more highly and are better prepared for their next steps. Pupils are happy, feel safe and benefit from a calm school culture where behaviour is improving and disruption is limited. They value leadership opportunities and a varied extra-curricular programme, and personal development is strong, including careers education, safety and health, and reading support. The main areas for improvement are in how the curriculum is delivered and assessed. Teaching methods are not consistently adapted to pupils' needs and starting points, so some pupils do not develop the depth of understanding they should. Classroom assessment does not always accurately identify gaps or misconceptions, meaning teachers cannot address them promptly, and pupils who have already grasped concepts are not moved on swiftly enough. Attendance remains below the national average, although it is rising through focused work with families. SEND systems have been strengthened and are still embedding, and safeguarding is effective. The sixth form is closing in August 2025, so no sixth-form judgement was made.

Strengths

• Ambitious, well-organised curriculum supported effectively by the trust
• Pupils achieve more highly and are better prepared for their next steps
• Calm, safe school culture with little disruption
• Behaviour is improving over time and pupils learn from sanctions
• Effective support helps pupils who find reading challenging build fluency and confidence
• More key stage 4 pupils have access to English Baccalaureate qualifications
• Strong personal development covering safety, health, careers and work experience
• Varied extra-curricular programme and valued leadership opportunities
• Strengthened systems for identifying and supporting pupils with SEND
• Attendance is rising through purposeful partnership with families
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Leaders engage well with parents, staff and the community

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is not consistently adapted to pupils' needs and starting points
• Some pupils do not develop the depth of understanding they should
• Classroom assessment does not accurately identify gaps or misconceptions
• Pupils who have already grasped concepts are not moved on swiftly enough
• Some pupils are concerned about bullying
• Attendance remains below the national average
• SEND expertise and curriculum adaptation are still embedding

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 Honiton Community College attended 88.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 30.6% 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, 11.6% of pupils at Honiton Community College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Honiton Community College had 18.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.1% 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, 16.2% of pupils at Honiton Community College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% 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 Honiton Community College received £7,687 and spent £8,486 for each of its 692 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £471,000 (£681 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of The Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,641 and spending £7,750 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 Honiton · Devon local authority: places and applications

Honiton Community College is part of The Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• Sidmouth College Sidmouth
• Cranbrook Education Campus Exeter
• St Luke's Church of England School Exeter
• St James School Exeter
• Whipton Barton Junior School Exeter
• Whipton Barton Infants and Nursery School Exeter
• Exmouth Community College Exmouth
• Isca Academy Exeter
• West Exe School Exeter
• Matford Brook Academy Exeter

What is Honiton Community College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Honiton Community College is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Honiton Community College last inspected by Ofsted?

Honiton Community College was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Honiton Community College have?

Honiton Community College has 637 pupils on roll.

What age range does Honiton Community College cover?

Honiton Community College for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Honiton Community College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.5, and 38% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Honiton Community College?

Honiton Community College is at School Lane, Honiton, Devon, EX14 1QT.