Penrice Academy and Poltair School are two of only four secondary schools in Cornwall to achieve positive progress scores for disadvantaged pupils. 

Recently-published government data illustrates that disadvantaged pupils in St Austell are receiving a significantly better education than their peers across the UK, so much so that they are also outperforming non-disadvantaged students nationally. 

Between them, Penrice and Poltair achieved an average ‘progress 8 score’ of +0.15 for St Austell’s disadvantaged pupils. This compares to a county figure of -0.63 and a national figure of -0.57. 

Disadvantaged pupils are defined as any students eligible for pupil premium funding and/or free school meals, and children in care (or who left care through adoption or another formal route). 

Both Penrice and Poltair are part of Cornwall Education Learning Trust’s family of schools and educate over 2,000 young people in St Austell between them. 

Despite containing idyllic, luxury seaside villages, both have catchment areas with significant numbers of disadvantaged students. 

In the 2021 census, St Austell Central was identified as the second most deprived area in Cornwall. 

“There’s a huge wealth disparity throughout Cornwall,” said Ben Wright, pupil premium lead at Penrice Academy. “St Austell is no different, and this disparity is reflected in our local schools.  

“But at both St Austell schools, we discriminate positively, and we make sure every child gets equal opportunities.” 

“It is a moral obligation to close the gap for disadvantaged pupils who perhaps don’t have some of the privileges that other students do. We do it because we care deeply.  

“We want every child to have the same opportunity to be successful. The progress these students make in school lays the foundations for their lives ahead and opens future doors.” 

Both covid-19 and the ongoing cost of living crisis have exacerbated problems in the last five years. These issues have caused the UK gap between outcomes for disadvantaged versus non-disadvantaged students to widen. 

Lee Adams, pupil premium lead at Poltair School, explained: “The pandemic posed obstacles to learning for a significant number of students across the country, but it especially impacted disadvantaged students.  

“The overall effect of these challenges resulted in a significant loss of valuable learning time, both academically and in terms of personal development. 

“Prolonged periods of school absence disrupted their routines and deprived them of essential resources such as hot meals, emotional support, access to reading materials, ICT equipment, and internet connectivity.  

As for the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, Mr Wright said: “We know this has an impact not only on family purses, but also on the mental health and wellbeing of those affected families.  

“Fortunately, unlike covid-19, schools are empowered with much more direct contact when helping disadvantaged students through the cost-of-living crisis.” 

Several schemes are being deployed at both schools to achieve positive results. One is the appointment of designated pupil premium lead teachers who coach and mentor a range of disadvantaged pupils, including additional support in the classroom, with homework and with developing study skills. 

“Parents, carers, and guardians can easily reach out to us should they need any assistance,” said Mr Adams.  

Further support includes financial assistance for uniform, supplies, study materials, trips and visits.  

At Penrice, a free breakfast club has started in the mornings ensuring that no child starts the day hungry. This is enabled by weekly food donations funded by the MCKS Charitable Foundation UK. 

“We particularly emphasise the club’s importance to our disadvantaged Year 11 students during the exam seasons,” said Mr Wright. “The benefits of fuelling your mind and body with a proper meal before exams are proven in multiple studies.” 

Disadvantaged students have also been supported indirectly via extensive professional development and training for teachers, specifically on the topic of supporting Pupil Premium students. 

At Poltair, focused support programs offer extra resources and guidance to disadvantaged students. These include additional mentoring, after-school masterclasses and attendance-focused groups. 

“These allow us to provide tailored attention to students, especially those facing academic challenges,” said Mr Adams. “They also allow us to employ early intervention strategies to prevent disadvantaged students from falling behind.” 

With St Austell’s disadvantaged pupils out-performing non-disadvantaged pupils nationally, one might ask: are they being given an unfair advantage?  

“Absolutely not,” said Mr Wright. “Our disadvantaged pupils are still being outperformed by their non-disadvantaged peers at both schools. The data shows that we are narrowing the gap, but there is still a gap and there is still work to do.” 

Both schools remain ambitious to help disadvantaged pupils further. “Our work is certainly not done; we want next year to be even better,” said Mr Adams.  

“We continue to collaborate with each other and share best practice in order to further improve, all with the aim of giving the young people of St Austell the best possible start to life.”