Humphry Davy SchoolCape Cornwall School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Penzance.
Summary of the comparison
Humphry Davy School and Cape Cornwall School are secondary schools in Penzance.
Humphry Davy School scores 52 out of 100 (grade D, below average) and Cape Cornwall School scores 52 out of 100 (grade D, below average). Our score is the same for each of them on the data available.
Humphry Davy School was judged Good and Cape Cornwall School was judged Good.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 41.7 for Humphry Davy School and 32.7 for Cape Cornwall School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Humphry Davy School (47.5 in 2021-22, 41.7 in 2025-26) and has fallen at Cape Cornwall School (43.3 in 2021-22, 32.7 in 2025-26).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | PenzanceHumphry Davy School | PenzanceCape Cornwall School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | D52/100 | D52/100 | |
| Local ranking | 21st of 31 in Cornwall | 21st of 31 in Cornwall | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Good | Ofsted: Good | |
| School type | Foundation school | Academy sponsor led | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-16 | 11-16 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 740 | 302 | |
| Capacity | 926 | 600 | |
| Location | Penzance, TR18 2TG | Penzance, TR19 7JX | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 41.7 Stronger figure | 32.7 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 38.5% Stronger figure | 18.0% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 55.4% Stronger figure | 40.0% | 64.8% |
| Cohort | 148 | 50 | |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 770 | 284 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 38.7% | 33.8% | |
| English as an additional language | 2.7% | 6.3% | |
| SEN support | 29.6% | 10.2% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 2.5% | 9.9% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 10.5% | 10.2% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 34.0% | 30.1% Stronger figure | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
Humphry Davy School
Cape Cornwall School
Full profiles: Humphry Davy School · Cape Cornwall School