Which school has the best GCSE results in Cornwall?

On 2026 Attainment 8, Richard Lander School tops the table in Cornwall with 53.7, against an England average of 46.2. 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 2026 results, the 2025/26 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 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021.

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 2026: secondary school league table

31 state secondary schools in Cornwall ranked on their 2026 GCSE results (Attainment 8, the 2025/26 academic year, the latest DfE has published for every school), with grade 7+, grade 5+ and grade 4+ in English and maths, 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 2025/26 results

Secondary schools in Cornwall ranked on Attainment 8

31 of 31 schools have published 2026 results. Source: DfE school performance tables, 2025/26.

Secondary schools in Cornwall ranked on Attainment 8, 2026 results
Rank	School	Attainment 8	Grade 7+ English & maths	Grade 5+ English & maths	Grade 4+ English & maths	EBacc APS	Pupils
–	England average	46.2	14%	46%	65%	–	–
1	Richard Lander School Truro · Community school	53.7	24%	62%	76%	–	292
2 , up 1 place since 2025	Camborne Science and International Academy Camborne · Academy converter	53.6	26%	60%	74%	–	274
3 , up 2 places since 2025	Penair School Truro · Academy converter	49.4	12%	51%	71%	–	227
4= , up 3 places since 2025	Falmouth School Falmouth · Academy converter	49.1	15%	48%	70%	–	153
4= , down 2 places since 2025	Penrice Academy St Austell · Academy converter	49.1	16%	48%	67%	–	275
6	Newquay Tretherras Newquay · Academy converter	49.0	15%	46%	68%	–	277
7= , up 2 places since 2025	Launceston College Launceston · Academy converter	48.5	17%	63%	77%	–	201
7= , up 8 places since 2025	Wadebridge School Wadebridge · Academy converter	48.5	13%	47%	68%	–	201
9 , up 3 places since 2025	Redruth School Redruth · Foundation school	48.1	11%	46%	70%	–	272
10 , up 15 places since 2025	Pool Academy Redruth · Academy converter	47.7	10%	49%	71%	–	105
11 , down 4 places since 2025	The Roseland Academy Truro · Academy converter	47.5	8%	45%	68%	–	124
12 , up 4 places since 2025	Callington Community College Callington · Academy converter	47.4	7%	53%	70%	–	146
13 , down 2 places since 2025	Bodmin College Bodmin · Academy converter	47.1	13%	49%	68%	–	239
14 , down 10 places since 2025	Penryn College Penryn · Academy converter	46.8	14%	49%	66%	–	236
15 , up 5 places since 2025	Treviglas Academy Newquay · Academy sponsor led	45.9	9%	46%	65%	–	171
16 , up 1 place since 2025	Mullion School Helston · Academy converter	45.0	10%	41%	62%	–	108
17	Mounts Bay Academy Penzance · Academy converter	44.1	9%	39%	65%	–	187
18 , up 1 place since 2025	Helston Community College Helston · Academy converter	43.9	7%	41%	64%	–	209
19= , down 6 places since 2025	Budehaven Community School Bude · Foundation school	43.7	9%	40%	60%	–	206
19= , up 3 places since 2025	Liskeard School and Community College Liskeard · Academy converter	43.7	7%	43%	59%	–	203
21 , down 7 places since 2025	St Ives School St Ives · Academy sponsor led	42.4	10%	36%	63%	–	115
22= , up 5 places since 2025	Humphry Davy School Penzance · Foundation school	41.7	8%	39%	55%	–	148
22= , down 12 places since 2025	Poltair School St Austell · Academy sponsor led	41.7	9%	38%	55%	–	146
24	Hayle Academy Hayle · Academy converter	40.9	4%	38%	59%	–	112
25 , up 5 places since 2025	Looe Community Academy Looe · Academy converter	40.7	5%	24%	52%	–	92
26 , down 5 places since 2025	Saltash Community School Saltash · Academy converter	40.6	7%	30%	56%	–	215
27 , down 4 places since 2025	Sir James Smith's School Camelford · Academy converter	39.9	1%	41%	59%	–	99
28	Torpoint Community College Torpoint · Foundation school	39.4	2%	30%	54%	–	135
29 , down 3 places since 2025	Brannel School St Austell · Academy sponsor led	38.0	3%	30%	51%	–	183
30 , down 1 place since 2025	Fowey River Academy Fowey · Academy sponsor led	34.9	2%	21%	38%	–	125
31	Cape Cornwall School Penzance · Academy sponsor led	32.7	2%	18%	40%	–	50

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

Under each rank: the change since the 2025 table, in places gained (+) or lost (−). No figure means the rank is unchanged or the school had no ranked 2025 result.

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	45.2	0%	28
The Cornwall Independent School Hayle · Other independent school	45.1	27%	11
Truro High School Truro · Other independent school	49.4	0%	53
Truro School Other independent school	33.2	0%	140

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 2026 was 46.2.

Grade 7+ in English and maths is the share of pupils reaching the top grades, 7 to 9, in both; grade 5+ is the "strong pass"; grade 4+ is the "standard pass". The DfE stopped publishing EBacc entry and the EBacc average point score from the 2025/26 results, so that column is empty for 2026.

Progress 8 is not shown: the DfE published no Progress 8 for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021, the baseline it is measured from. 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 2026: 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