The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy

Type Secondary / Academy sponsor led
Age Range 11-18
Religion Church of England
Address Worth Road
Ilfracombe
Devon
EX34 9JB
Phone 01271863427
Reference Number 139553

The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy is performing positively with significant improvements in pupils' achievements evident across various metrics, including national examinations. The school demonstrates a strong commitment to safeguarding and has fostered a culture where safety is prioritized. However, there are areas requiring attention, particularly regarding the consistent support for students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and behavioral challenges that occasionally disrupt learning. Leaders are making concerted efforts to address these issues while maintaining high expectations for pupil behavior and attendance.

General Makeup

Number of pupils 1011
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 48.96%
Girls: 51.04%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 24.7%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 2.8%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 21.5

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
7 87 72 159
8 87 92 179
9 91 98 189
10 95 88 183
11 87 94 181
12 34 43 77
13 14 29 43

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 92.4%
White, Other 2.5%
Indian 0.8%
Mixed, Other 0.8%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.7%
White & Asian 0.6%
Unclassified 0.6%
Irish 0.3%
White & Black (African) 0.2%
African 0.2%
Asian, Other 0.2%

Overall Ofsted Rating Expected standard
 >  Leadership & Governance Expected standard
 >  Personal Development & Wellbeing Expected standard
 >  Achievement Expected standard
 >  Attendance & Behaviour Expected standard
 >  Curriculum & Teaching Expected standard
 >  Inclusion Expected standard
 >  Post-16 Provision Expected standard
Last Report Date 13 Jan 2026
Date Report
13 Jan 2026 School inspection
10 May 2023 School inspection
25 Apr 2017 Full inspection
17 Jun 2015 Monitoring visit
05 Feb 2015 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Pupils achieve well, with positive outcomes in national examinations.
  • High quality of pupils' work and recall of taught material.
  • Strong structured reading programme that improves fluency for struggling readers.
  • Leaders successfully reduce barriers to attendance.
  • Broad and ambitious curriculum that revisits key learning.

Areas for Improvement

  • Some pupils with SEND do not consistently receive necessary support.
  • Repeated removal of pupils from lessons due to behavior leads to missed learning.
  • Lack of confidence among some pupils and parents in how bullying is handled.

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

  • English
  • Maths
  • 3 subjects from qualifications that count towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), like sciences, language and history
  • 3 more GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or technical awards from a list approved by the Department for Education

Each grade a pupil gets is assigned a point score from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest). These scores are added up, with English and maths counted twice.

School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
47.9

GCSE Results

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths 50.6%
5 or more GCSEs at grade 9-4 (or A-C) 64.6%

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

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GCSE Results

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Points

Points Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Average Points 36.81
Average Points (best 3) 40.93

Grades

School Local Nationwide
Average Grade B- C+ C+
Average Grade (best 3) B C+ C+
Percentage Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Students getting AAB or better 28%
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2025 Admissions

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 9 0
Third Preference 1 0
From another Local Authority 1 1

Previous Years

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Destinations after GCSE's

Staying in Education
 >  Further Education
 >  School Sixth Form
 >  Sixth Form College
 >  Other Education
Apprenticeships
Employment
Not in education or employment
Unknown

Name Distance
Ilfracombe Church of England Junior School
Princess Avenue, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 9LW
0.27 miles
Ilfracombe Infant and Nursery School
Marlborough Road, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 8JL
0.34 miles
Berrynarbor Church of England Primary School
Berrynarbor, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 9SE
2.29 miles
West Down School
West Down, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 8NF
3.23 miles
Combe Martin Primary School
Hangman Path, Combe Martin, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 0DF
3.42 miles
Woolacombe School
Beach Road, Woolacombe, Devon, EX34 7BT
4.43 miles
Name Distance
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