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A free, independent guide for parents - updated each admissions cycle. 26,506 schools · England & Wales
catchment.school

Schools in Falmouth

Reviewed by the catchment.school editorial team · Last updated 15 March 2026

Falmouth's 11 schools are administered by Cornwall Council, with 9 primaries and 1 secondary — Penryn College Academy — serving this maritime port and arts town on the Fal estuary. Cornwall uses straight-line distance as the standard tiebreaker for community schools after sibling priority. Six of Falmouth's 11 schools are academies; 10 carry a faith designation, with Church of England schools particularly prominent in the rural villages surrounding the town.

Penryn College Academy is the main state secondary for Falmouth, Penryn and surrounding villages, operating as a mixed 11-18 academy. Families should note that Falmouth University is listed in the database but is a higher education institution and does not participate in the LA's school admissions scheme. Village primaries — including Mylor Bridge Community, Mawnan CofE and Flushing School — serve small communities on the Carrick Roads and Helford fringes and have limited capacity.

Cornwall's admissions round coordinates all mainstream school places centrally. Historical offer-distance data for each Falmouth school is available through catchment.school; families in the Penryn and Flushing areas should verify which primary falls within a realistic distance, as some village schools are geographically close but separated by waterways that add significant travel distance.

School demand in Falmouth

Across the 10 schools in Falmouth with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 92%. 4 of them are currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.

5 schools in Falmouth have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.

6 of the schools in Falmouth are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Cornwall, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.

2 of the schools in Falmouth have a current Ofsted rating, of which 2 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.

Primary schools in Falmouth: 4 oversubscribed (9)

Secondary Schools in Falmouth (1)

Other Schools in Falmouth (1)

Catchment area boundaries for schools in Falmouth are set by Cornwall and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.

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