St Nicolas' CofE VA School, Downderry
General Information
- Address: Downderry, Torpoint, PL11 3LF – View on map
- Phone: 01503250565
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Christine Gardiner
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 14 families put it first for 14 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 8
- % eligible for free school meals: 8.3%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the Cornwall average)
- English as an additional language: 0% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 24.3% a year (Cornwall 17%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 29% moved to another school, 71% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Cornwall: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 8 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 9 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary 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: 4.5%
- Persistently absent pupils: 8.6%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 7.3%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 0.0%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2024 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 38% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 8% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 22 percentage points below the Cornwall average (60%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 47% against an expected 57%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 47%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 77% · Writing 62% · Maths 69% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 54%
- Average test scores: reading 106, maths 104
- Based on: 13 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: joint 190th of 209 junior and primary schools in the area
- =190Delabole Primary School38%
- =190Ludgvan School38%
- =190St Nicolas' CofE VA School, Downderry38%
- #193Grade-Ruan CofE Primary School36%
- =194Boskenwyn Community Primary School33%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
122nd of 166 primary schools in Cornwall for Ofsted rating
- #120St Minver SchoolGood
- #121St Newlyn East Learning AcademyGood
- #122St Nicolas' CofE VA School, DownderryGood
- #123St Stephen Churchtown AcademyGood
- #124St Stephens (Saltash) Community Primary School & NurseryGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £5,450 (2024-25)
211th of 219 primary schools in Cornwall for spending per pupil
- #209St Teath Community Primary School£5,504
- #210St Francis CofE Primary School£5,486
- #211St Nicolas' CofE VA School, Downderry£5,450
- #212Millbrook CofE Primary School£5,433
- #213Antony Church of England School£5,337
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)