South Molton Community College

About South Molton Community College

South Molton Community College holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in December 2024, with inspectors awarding Good across all four graded categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The school’s Progress 8 score of 0.01 is the most telling exam metric here — it sits almost exactly at the national average, meaning pupils typically achieve the results you would expect given their starting points. That figure also compares favourably with the Devon local authority average of -0.09, placing the school above the typical secondary in its area. In the North Devon district specifically, South Molton ranks third out of six schools on Progress 8, and nationally it sits in the 48th percentile among 3,141 mainstream secondary schools. The Attainment 8 score of 44.9 gives a sense of overall GCSE performance, while 48.3 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths.

Looking more closely at the breakdown, the school’s Progress 8 score is underpinned by a slightly positive result in maths (0.09) and a small negative in English (-0.04), suggesting maths provision is a relative strength. The EBacc average point score of 3.91 is modest, and only 25.4 per cent of pupils entered the EBacc suite of subjects, with 18.6 per cent achieving a grade 4 or above across those subjects. The school does not have a sixth form, so all pupils leave at 16. Parent View responses, collected between September 2024 and September 2025, show mixed feelings: 55 per cent of the 109 respondents would recommend the school, but only 48 per cent agreed their child is happy, and just 41 per cent felt concerns are dealt with properly. On the plus side, 89 per cent agreed their child can take part in clubs and activities, and 72 per cent agreed there is a good range of subjects available.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 130 first-preference applications for 136 places, giving a ratio of 1.1 applicants per place. Facilities include a swimming pool, gymnasium, sports hall, science labs, and an ICT suite, and the sports on offer range from rowing and martial arts to hockey and gymnastics. Clubs are plentiful too, with options like coding, orchestra, eco club, and young enterprise. For families with children who have special educational needs, the school lists provisions for a wide range of needs including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and social, emotional and mental health support. However, the Parent View data on SEND support is notably split: 43 per cent strongly disagreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need, while only 28 per cent agreed or strongly agreed. This is a secondary that suits families prioritising average-or-better academic progress and a broad extracurricular offer, but one where parental satisfaction on pastoral and communication fronts appears more variable.

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