Stoke Damerel Community College

About Stoke Damerel Community College

Stoke Damerel Community College’s headline Progress 8 score of -0.19 places it below the Plymouth local authority average of -0.04 for secondary schools, meaning pupils here make less academic progress between Year 7 and Year 11 than their peers across the city. That gap is modest but consistent: the school ranks 12th out of 18 state secondaries in Plymouth, putting it in the bottom third locally. Nationally, it sits in the 63rd percentile among over 3,100 schools, so it’s not an outlier, but it’s clearly not a high-progress choice. The school’s Attainment 8 score of 38.5 and the fact that only 30% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths (the basics95 measure) reinforce that picture. However, the school serves a significantly disadvantaged intake — 41.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average — so context matters when reading these numbers.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022, the school was rated Good across every category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. That’s a clear improvement from its previous inspection in 2018, when it was graded Requires Improvement overall and in both leadership and sixth-form provision. At Key Stage 5, the picture is more mixed: the school’s value-added score of -0.47 is rated ‘Below average’, and the average points per entry (23.78) equates to a D+ grade. Only 5.3% of A-level entries were AAB or higher. The sixth form is small — just 39 pupils in the data — so these figures are sensitive to individual performance. The EBacc entry rate is very low at 7.8%, and only 3.2% of pupils achieved the full EBacc at grade 5 or above, which suggests a curriculum that doesn’t push the traditional academic breadth.

The school is oversubscribed: for 262 places in 2025/26, it received 451 total applications, with 239 first-preference offers, giving a ratio of 1.72 applicants per place. That suggests strong local demand despite the middling headline results. Facilities are generous for a state school, including a swimming pool, theatre, gymnasium, science labs, and a sixth-form centre. There’s a wide range of sports and clubs — from rowing and martial arts to Model UN, coding, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. SEND provision is comprehensive, covering dyslexia, autism, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities, plus a resourced provision. This is a school that suits families who value breadth of opportunity and inclusive support over top-tier academic outcomes, and who are comfortable with a large, mixed comprehensive setting in Plymouth.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Stoke Damerel Community College

Helpful Guides for Parents