Poltair School - The School Companion

Poltair School

Cornwall · PL25 4BZ

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 882 pupils, 33.7% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 17.6% on SEN support Behaviour 9.6% absence rate Staff 18.3% turnover Financials £7,828 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Poltair School

General Information

Address: Trevarthian Road, St Austell, PL25 4BZ – View on map
Phone: 01726874520
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Richard Cardigan
Age range: 11-16 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

882 pupils out of 900 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 297
% eligible for free school meals: 33.7%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (more mixed than the Cornwall average)
English as an additional language: 5% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 18.3% a year (Cornwall 15.4%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 56% moved to another school, 44% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Cornwall: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 55 (1.8 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 63 (2.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 16 (0.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Cornwall, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 9.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 26.6%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 17.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 40 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 36 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 26 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 21 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 9 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 47.4
Compared with the area: 1.7 points above the Cornwall average (45.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (+3.6 points against an expected 43.8)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 69% (Cornwall 64%, England 65%) Improving
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolCornwall averageEngland↗ Improving Up 3.3 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 1.7 points above the Cornwall average (45.7).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

10th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for Attainment 8

#8The Roseland Academy48.3
#9Launceston College48.0
#10Poltair School47.4
#11Bodmin College46.0
#12Redruth School45.7

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Richard Lander School51.0
#2Penrice Academy50.9
#3Camborne Science and International Academy49.7
#4Penryn College49.2
#5Penair School49.1
#6Newquay Tretherras48.4
#7Falmouth School48.3
#8The Roseland Academy48.3
#9Launceston College48.0
#10Poltair School47.4
#11Bodmin College46.0
#12Redruth School45.7
#13Budehaven Community School45.4
#14St Ives School45.0
#15Wadebridge School44.7
#16Callington Community College44.0
#17Mounts Bay Academy43.7
#18Mullion School43.7
#19Helston Community College43.6
#20Treviglas Academy43.0
#21Saltash Community School42.9
#22Liskeard School and Community College42.8
#23Sir James Smith's School42.7
#24Hayle Academy42.4
#25Pool Academy41.8
#26Brannel School41.6
#27Humphry Davy School41.5
#28Torpoint Community College41.0
#29Fowey River Academy39.7
#30Looe Community Academy39.0
#31Cape Cornwall School38.4

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 87.0%
Went into further education: 73.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Geography
History
Science Double Award
Spanish
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Art & Design
Computer Science
D & T
Religious Studies
Portuguese
French Language
Russian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

14th of 19 secondary schools in Cornwall for Ofsted rating

#12Penair SchoolGood
#13Penryn CollegeGood
#14Poltair SchoolGood
#15Richard Lander SchoolGood
#16Sir James Smith's SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1The Roseland AcademyOutstanding
#2Brannel SchoolGood
#3Budehaven Community SchoolGood
#4Callington Community CollegeGood
#5Camborne Science and International AcademyGood
#6Cape Cornwall SchoolGood
#7Helston Community CollegeGood
#8Humphry Davy SchoolGood
#9Launceston CollegeGood
#10Mullion SchoolGood
#11Newquay TretherrasGood
#12Penair SchoolGood
#13Penryn CollegeGood
#14Poltair SchoolGood
#15Richard Lander SchoolGood
#16Sir James Smith's SchoolGood
#17St Ives SchoolGood
#18Torpoint Community CollegeGood
#19Wadebridge SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,828 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

13th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for spending per pupil

#11Liskeard School and Community College£7,856
#12Brannel School£7,844
#13Poltair School£7,828
#14Pool Academy£7,773
#15Mullion School£7,729

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Cape Cornwall School£10,088
#2Humphry Davy School£8,823
#3Callington Community College£8,371
#4Bodmin College£8,326
#5Richard Lander School£8,290
#6Penryn College£8,290
#7Wadebridge School£8,127
#8Mounts Bay Academy£8,078
#9Launceston College£7,927
#10Redruth School£7,877
#11Liskeard School and Community College£7,856
#12Brannel School£7,844
#13Poltair School£7,828
#14Pool Academy£7,773
#15Mullion School£7,729
#16Camborne Science and International Academy£7,675
#17Sir James Smith's School£7,660
#18Torpoint Community College£7,657
#19Looe Community Academy£7,630
#20Fowey River Academy£7,587
#21Hayle Academy£7,554
#22Helston Community College£7,553
#23St Ives School£7,502
#24Penair School£7,483
#25Newquay Tretherras£7,403
#26Budehaven Community School£7,221
#27The Roseland Academy£7,198
#28Saltash Community School£7,164
#29Penrice Academy£7,079
#30Falmouth School£6,777
#31Treviglas Academy£6,777

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Cornwall: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered