Beacon Academy

About Beacon Academy

Beacon Academy is a state primary school in Cornwall that is clearly in demand. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 99 applications for just 54 places, with 53 of those going to first-preference families, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.83. That kind of pressure on places suggests strong local reputation. The school is currently home to 448 pupils against a capacity of 480, so it’s running close to full. Demographically, 44.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is significantly above the national average and points to a catchment with higher-than-average levels of disadvantage. Headteacher Kaye Haywood leads a mixed, non-denominational school that also offers nursery provision for three-year-olds. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in March 2025, judged that the school had ‘improved significantly’ since its last graded inspection, while retaining an overall Good rating.

Academically, Beacon Academy performs well above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 74% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared to a Cornwall average of just 58%. That places the school 31st out of 208 primary schools in the county, comfortably inside the top 25% nationally. Looking at individual subjects, reading scores were particularly strong, with an average scaled score of 108 and 42% of pupils reaching the higher standard. Maths also performed well, with an average score of 105 and 82% meeting expectations. Writing was slightly lower, with 79% at expected and 14% at the higher level. The school’s Ofsted breakdown from its last graded inspection in 2019 rated leadership, behaviour, early years provision and overall effectiveness all as Good, and the 2025 ungraded inspection noted clear improvement since then.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a sports hall, playing fields, an ICT suite, a sensory room and a forest school area, plus a chapel. Sports provision covers football, cricket, gymnastics, dance and athletics, and there are clubs including film, art, chess and choir. For SEND, Beacon has a dedicated SEN unit and supports children with specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, hearing impairments, physical disabilities and social, emotional and mental health needs. Parent View responses, based on 55 respondents, are overwhelmingly positive: 89% of parents said their child is happy at the school, 89% agreed their child feels safe, and 85% would recommend the school to others. This is a school that suits families looking for a well-regarded, inclusive primary with strong academic outcomes relative to the local area, particularly those who value a broad range of enrichment and SEND support.

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