West Exe School

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Exeter, Devon·EX2 9JU
Composite score
58.8
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#1,338
National rank
#116
In South West
#11
In Devon
Top 42%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
47.0
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
51%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
74%
% EBacc grade 5+
14%
EBacc average points score
4.29

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
230 first choices, 239 places
First choices per place
0.96
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
330
any preference, for 239 places
Last place offered lived
10.68 mi
straight line, 2025 intake · 17187 m
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.04
00.511.5
1 per place
1.0220220.9020230.9520241.0020250.962026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants, and in 2025 the last place went under “category 10 (last place, by distance)”. Published by the council in its 2025 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it. In 2026 the school was not oversubscribed, so no distance limit applied.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
1,237
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
20.4%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
15.8%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
13.6%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
4.6%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
10.9%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
28.6%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
16.0
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£6,791
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
92%
188 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
81%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
6%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

West Exe School at a glance

Located in Exeter, Devon, West Exe School is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. The school educates roughly 1,237 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 47.0, broadly in line with the national average of 46. That is down 1.4 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 42% of secondary schools nationally.

51% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, above the national average of about 45%. 74% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. West Exe School was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 230 families who put it first were offered a place. The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2025 lived 10.68 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. After Year 11, 92% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 10.9%. There are about 16.0 pupils per teacher. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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