Illogan School

About Illogan School

Illogan School is a state primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 5 to 11 in Cornwall, currently home to 203 children against a capacity of 265. That leaves around a fifth of places unfilled, but the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 75 applications for just 30 places, with 31 of those coming as first preferences. Only 29 first-preference offers were made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.5 applicants per place. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 25.6%, which is notably higher than the national primary average of around 23% and suggests the school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage. Headteacher Lucy Wandless leads a school that, despite its popularity, operates well within its physical capacity, meaning there is room for growth. The religious character is listed as 'does not apply', so there is no faith-based admissions criteria.

Academically, Illogan sits in the middle of the pack. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 57% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, just one point below the Cornwall local authority average of 58%. That places the school 113th out of 208 primaries in the county, and 8736th nationally out of 13,686 — roughly the 64th percentile. The average reading score was 103 and maths 102, both a touch above the national benchmark of 100. However, only 7% of pupils achieved the higher standard in all three subjects, and the school's progress scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in September 2023, the school was rated Good across all five categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2019.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including an ICT suite, sensory room, sports hall, music rooms and a gymnasium, plus outdoor playing fields and a playground. Sports provision covers netball, athletics, football, dance, cricket and swimming, while clubs include drama, art, eco, gardening, film and science. SEND support is well-documented, with provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. There is no nursery or sixth form. For families, Illogan represents a popular but not oversubscribed-to-the-point-of-exclusion option in Cornwall, with a Good Ofsted rating and academic results that sit close to the local average. It is particularly suited to families who value a broad range of extracurricular activities and a school that has demonstrated recent improvement under stable leadership.

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