Which school has the best GCSE results in Cornwall?

On 2025 Attainment 8, Richard Lander School tops the table in Cornwall with 51.0, against an England average of 46.0. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so compare a school's grade 5+ pass rate and, where published, its Progress 8 before reading the rank as a verdict.

When are the 2026 GCSE results for Cornwall schools published?

Pupils receive their results in August, but school-by-school figures come from the DfE performance tables, which publish provisional results in the autumn (usually mid-October) and revised figures early in the new year. This table shows 2025 results, the 2024/25 academic year, and updates when the next release is imported.

What is Attainment 8?

Attainment 8 is the DfE's headline GCSE measure: the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. A score of 50 means pupils averaged roughly a grade 5 across those subjects. No Progress 8 exists for 2025 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020.

Why does a school in Cornwall show no GCSE results?

A school has no published figure when it had no Year 11 cohort in the year (a new school, or one that opened with younger year groups), when it converted to an academy and the DfE published results under its previous identity, or when it is independent and its pupils sat IGCSE, Pre-U or IB qualifications that the DfE tables do not count. Independent schools with a published figure are listed separately and unranked for that reason.

Cornwall GCSE results 2025: secondary school league table

31 state secondary schools in Cornwall ranked on their 2025 GCSE results (Attainment 8, the 2024/25 academic year, the latest DfE has published for every school), with grade 5+ and grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc average point score and cohort size for each school against the England average. 4 independent schools with published results are listed separately, unranked.

Local Authority 31 state secondary schools 2024/25 results

Secondary schools in Cornwall ranked on Attainment 8

31 of 31 schools have published 2025 results. Source: DfE school performance tables, 2024/25.

Secondary schools in Cornwall ranked on Attainment 8, 2025 results
Rank	School	Attainment 8	Grade 5+ English & maths	Grade 4+ English & maths	EBacc APS	Pupils
–	England average	46.0	45%	65%	4.09	–
1	Richard Lander School Truro · Community school	51.0	55%	72%	4.43	280
2	Penrice Academy St Austell · Academy converter	50.9	52%	74%	4.85	272
3	Camborne Science and International Academy Camborne · Academy converter	49.7	47%	69%	4.21	302
4	Penryn College Penryn · Academy converter	49.2	49%	69%	4.11	226
5	Penair School Truro · Academy converter	49.1	56%	71%	4.08	232
6	Newquay Tretherras Newquay · Academy converter	48.4	47%	68%	4.16	280
7=	Falmouth School Falmouth · Academy converter	48.3	47%	70%	4.22	146
7=	The Roseland Academy Truro · Academy converter	48.3	45%	68%	4.10	119
9	Launceston College Launceston · Academy converter	48.0	55%	68%	4.36	250
10	Poltair School St Austell · Academy sponsor led	47.4	48%	69%	4.22	161
11	Bodmin College Bodmin · Academy converter	46.0	45%	63%	3.78	238
12	Redruth School Redruth · Foundation school	45.7	42%	67%	3.98	269
13	Budehaven Community School Bude · Foundation school	45.4	36%	62%	3.79	177
14	St Ives School St Ives · Academy sponsor led	45.0	45%	60%	3.80	109
15	Wadebridge School Wadebridge · Academy converter	44.7	43%	65%	3.65	216
16	Callington Community College Callington · Academy converter	44.0	41%	69%	3.99	132
17=	Mounts Bay Academy Penzance · Academy converter	43.7	38%	66%	3.82	191
17=	Mullion School Helston · Academy converter	43.7	41%	58%	3.74	107
19	Helston Community College Helston · Academy converter	43.6	47%	63%	3.68	214
20	Treviglas Academy Newquay · Academy sponsor led	43.0	42%	62%	3.52	162
21	Saltash Community School Saltash · Academy converter	42.9	39%	60%	3.57	191
22	Liskeard School and Community College Liskeard · Academy converter	42.8	36%	56%	3.62	203
23	Sir James Smith's School Camelford · Academy converter	42.7	43%	58%	3.67	100
24	Hayle Academy Hayle · Academy converter	42.4	33%	59%	3.41	95
25	Pool Academy Redruth · Academy converter	41.8	38%	61%	3.57	103
26	Brannel School St Austell · Academy sponsor led	41.6	31%	55%	3.39	164
27	Humphry Davy School Penzance · Foundation school	41.5	36%	56%	3.45	146
28	Torpoint Community College Torpoint · Foundation school	41.0	38%	56%	3.76	135
29	Fowey River Academy Fowey · Academy sponsor led	39.7	33%	52%	3.44	129
30	Looe Community Academy Looe · Academy converter	39.0	24%	50%	3.33	111
31	Cape Cornwall School Penzance · Academy sponsor led	38.4	32%	58%	3.59	57

Schools with the same Attainment 8 score share a rank (shown as "=").

Independent schools in Cornwall with published GCSE results

Listed as published, not ranked. The DfE tables count only reformed GCSEs, so a school whose pupils sit IGCSE, Pre-U or the IB reports a lower figure than its results merit, or none at all. Compare independent schools on their own published examination results and inspection reports.

School	Attainment 8 (as published)	Grade 5+ English & maths	Pupils
St Josephs School Cornwall · Other independent school	46.7	0%	28
The Cornwall Independent School Hayle · Other independent school	55.5	50%	6
Truro High School Truro · Other independent school	46.6	0%	56
Truro School Other independent school	34.1	0%	125

How to read this table

Attainment 8 is the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight GCSE subjects: English and maths (double-weighted), three EBacc subjects (sciences, computing, history, geography, languages) and three further approved qualifications. The DfE publishes it for every state school; the England average for 2025 was 46.0.

Grade 5+ in English and maths is the share of pupils reaching a "strong pass" in both; grade 4+ is the "standard pass". EBacc APS is the average point score across the English Baccalaureate subjects, including pupils who did not enter them.

Progress 8 is not shown: the DfE published no Progress 8 for 2025 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020, the baseline it is measured from, and the same applies to 2026. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so a selective school will usually top an attainment-only table.

Ranks are shared where scores tie. Schools are ranked here on published results alone; our composite score, which also weighs Ofsted inspection, progress and attendance, orders the same schools on the best secondary schools page.

See the best secondary schools in Cornwall on our composite score

Cornwall GCSE results 2025: secondary school league table

Secondary schools in Cornwall ranked on Attainment 8

Independent schools in Cornwall with published GCSE results

More about schools in Cornwall

Cornwall GCSE results: common questions