Pencalenick School
Pencalenick School is a special academy in Truro for boys and girls aged 3 to 16. It has 200 pupils, 1 more than it has places for. About 58 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.
St Clement, Truro, TR1 1TE01872 520385pencalenick.orgMr Joseph McGovern head of schoolAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 7 May 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
36 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 36 | 32 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 23 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 44.8 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -1.65 | -1.91 | -2.09 | -1.46 | -1.51 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 42% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 63% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 0.08 | 0.06 | 0.34 | 0.15 | 0.31 | 0.41 | 3.85 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 28% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 4.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.6 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 2.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 2.7 | – | – |
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
4 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 4 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | – | – | – | 0% | – | – | 60% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | – | – | – | 0% | – | – | 8% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | – | – | – | 0% | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | – | – | – | 0% | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | – | – | – | 0% | – | – | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | – | -7.8 | – | – | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | – | -10.3 | – | – | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 3 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Cornwall council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, other needs, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Cornwall with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (57), language and communications needs (50), Moderate learning difficulty (44), Severe learning difficulty (28), emotional and mental health (7), Physical disability (6).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 200 | 201 | 195 | 177 | 174 | 161 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 58% | 50% | 50% | 51% | 45% | 39% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 4% | 3% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 99% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 88.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 11.9% | 13.6% | 14.5% | 14.3% | 20.0% | 8.2% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 11.3% | 12.8% | 11.7% | 11.4% | 17.9% | 6.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.5% | 0.7% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 2.1% | 1.4% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 32.6% | 37.4% | 43.3% | 43.9% | 78.2% | 22.4% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 5.0 | 0.0 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 26 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 96% | 89% | 93% | 97% |
| Education | 92% | 89% | 93% | 97% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% | 3% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penair School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 1,223 | Good 2023 | 68 | Compare |
| Tregolls Academy | Academy | 1.2 miles | 220 | Report card 2026 | 4 | Compare |
| Truro School | Independent (grammar) | 1.6 miles | 775 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Polwhele House School | Independent | 1.7 miles | 109 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Archbishop Benson CofE Primary School | Academy | 1.7 miles | 421 | Good 2023 | 36 | Compare |
| St Mary's CofE School, Truro | Church of England | 2.1 miles | 203 | No overall grade 2025 | 18 | Compare |
| Truro Nursery School | Local authority nursery school | 2.2 miles | 77 | Outstanding 2023 | – | Compare |
| Truro High School | Independent | 2.3 miles | 368 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Pencalenick School a good school?
Pencalenick School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in May 2025.
What is Pencalenick School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Pencalenick School not judged at its last full inspection on 7 May 2025.
How good are Pencalenick School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 0.9, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Pencalenick School have?
200 pupils aged 3 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 199 places, so it is 101% full.
What is attendance like at Pencalenick School?
Pupils were in school 88.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 33% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Pencalenick School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, other needs, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- St Clement, Truro, TR1 1TE
- Telephone
- 01872 520385
- Website
- www.pencalenick.org
- Head of School
- Mr Joseph McGovern
- Type of school
- Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 3-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Special Partnership Trust (10 schools)
- Local authority
- Cornwall
- Ward
- Probus & St Erme
- Constituency
- Truro and Falmouth
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2011 (academy converter)
- URN
- 137478 · LAESTAB 9087002 · UKPRN 10035021
- Formerly
- Pencalenick School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.