The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy

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.

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.

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 The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.5% 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, 15.0% of pupils at The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.0% 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, 14.1% of pupils at The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.0% 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 The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy received £8,331 and spent £8,259 for each of its 1,011 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £665,000 (£657 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Athena Learning Trust, income was £8,447 and spending £8,351 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 Ilfracombe · Devon local authority: places and applications

The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy is part of Athena Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Bideford College Bideford
• Atlantic Academy Bideford
• Egloskerry Primary School Launceston
• Launceston College Launceston
• Launceston Primary School Launceston
• Altarnun Primary School Launceston
• Pool Academy Redruth
• Camborne Science and International Academy Camborne

What is The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in April 2026.

When was The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy was last inspected in April 2026.

How many pupils does The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy have?

The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy has 1,016 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy cover?

The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.7, and 53% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy?

The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy is at Worth Road, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 9JB.