Falmouth School is an 11-18 Business and Enterprise Specialist School of approximately 1,100 students, 68 teachers and approximately 50 support staff. It serves the attractive coastal town of Falmouth and some of the neighbouring villages. In addition to Y7 to Y11, we have a thriving sixth form of 240 students who follow a wide range of A’ level and vocational subjects.
The school has recently been unified on one site, after thirty years of split site arrangements. Extensive new buildings and a whole school upgrade resulted in an environment which is modern, bright and superbly equipped. New accommodation includes science labs, art studios, drama and dance studios, a music suite with recording studio, assembly hall, technology rooms, history rooms and a media studies room. Other areas have been improved and re-equipped. A further programme of refurbishment will begin this Easter and will take almost a year to complete. We have an award-winning Design studio in which a student team acted as the clients for the whole project. A wind turbine has been installed to complete this project.
The school has been very successful in recent years, enjoying exam and test results that confirm that students make good progress from KS2 to KS4; we have gained awards for a range of initiatives and promote a caring and happy community. The staff are supportive and there is a wealth of experience and talent amongst them. The successes of the school were recognised in the recent Ofsted inspection (January 2009) when the school was judged to be good with many outstanding features. A recent survey inspection of the impact of parental involvement in improving outcomes for learners judged the school to be “outstanding” in this aspect (November 2009).
The school community reflects that of the town of Falmouth, being a full cross section of society. Falmouth is famous as a holiday resort, and has all the attractions one would expect of a Cornish coastal community, but it also has a deep harbour docks complex and a range of small manufacturing companies. There are areas of significant deprivation masked by the holiday resort and maritime industries of the town. The climate and scenery are the two major assets of the area, while the distance from the rest of the country can be seen as either an advantage or disadvantage! Sports and Art opportunities abound!
Being on the south coast, Falmouth has a sheltered and temperate aspect, which creates a softer landscape than the more rugged north coast. This in turn makes it a more popular residential area, and house prices tend to reflect this trend. Just a few miles inland, however, one can find property priced at a much more affordable level.
The cathedral city of Truro, the administrative centre of the county, is only ten miles from Falmouth and offers a good range of shops, restaurants and entertainment attractions. Falmouth itself has a thriving shopping centre, art gallery, historical attractions, entertainment and all of the features one associates with the best of Cornwall, including safe beaches, beautiful scenery, excellent sailing, fishing and leisure and sports opportunities.
