Basingstoke’s state schools get lower results than 55% of towns in England
48 state-funded schools are located in Basingstoke’s built-up area. Basingstoke grades C+ for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #44 of 76 in Hampshire. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
None of the 7 state secondaries in Basingstoke keeps pupils past 16. Queen Mary's College, a 16–19 school, takes 0 students; most others go to a further-education or sixth-form college, or a sixth form in another town. After 16 ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Basingstoke grades C+ for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (61% meet the standard)Better than 47% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (45.6 and 43%)Better than 45% of towns in England
Each of Basingstoke’s 21 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Basingstoke’s 7 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolHampshire’s average school
The primary figure: 21 primaries in the town, 4,251 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 7 secondaries in the town, 1,255 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Map
Where Basingstoke’s 48 state schools are
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Basingstoke’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondary (named)Special, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table. The 7 secondaries are named.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 5% at St Bede's Catholic Primary School to 50% at Park View Primary School. Against schools with the same intake, Rucstall Primary School does best: 82% with 17% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 64%. 9 of 21 primaries and 2 of 7 secondaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Basingstoke
Hampshire County Council handles applications for every state school in Basingstoke, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.
When a school is full
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 5 of Basingstoke’s 40 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 6 schools are at or over it.
Kings Furlong Infant incl. nursery107%
St Anne's106%
The Costello104%
Brighton Hill Community102%
St Mark's101%
Kempshott Infant100%
St Bede's100%
Four Lanes Community Junior99%
Bishop Challoner99%
St John's99%
Show all 40 schools
Marnel Community Infant99%
Great Binfields99%
Everest Community99%
The Vyne Community99%
Castle Hill99%
Four Lanes Infant97%
Hatch Warren Junior97%
Rucstall97%
Castle Hill Infant97%
Fairfields96%
Marnel Junior96%
Oakridge Junior96%
South View Junior95%
Kings Furlong Junior95%
Kempshott Junior94%
Oakridge Infant incl. nursery94%
Park View incl. nursery94%
Hatch Warren Infant92%
Winklebury Infant incl. nursery91%
Cranbourne91%
Manor Field Junior89%
South View Infant incl. nursery87%
Chalk Ridge86%
The Blue Coat School Basingstoke84%
Manor Field Infant83%
Winklebury Junior83%
Chiltern81%
Merton Infant incl. nursery80%
Merton Junior68%
Hounsome Fields7%
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
The schools
48 state schools in Basingstoke
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Letters of Basingstoke’s schoolsA6B7C11D420 without a letter
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Ofsted
Ofsted report cards
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Outstanding 4Good 12Report card 9Requires improvement 2Inadequate 2Ungraded inspection only 17No published grade 2
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 9 of Basingstoke’s 48 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
Run by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
South Farnham Educational TrustBrighton Hill Community, The Blue Coat School Basingstoke, Kings Furlong Infant
3
2,314
B−D
Chiltern Way Academy TrustChiltern Way Academy Austen, Chiltern Way Academy Basingstoke, Chiltern Way Academy Futures
North Hampshire Education AllianceQueen Mary's College
1
0
—
Hampshire County CouncilCranbourne, Bishop Challoner, The Vyne Community, Castle Hill, St Mark's, St Bede's, Park View, Great Binfields, Fairfields, Kempshott Junior, Four Lanes Community Junior, Marnel Community Infant, Hatch Warren Junior, Oakridge Junior, Oakridge Infant, St John's, Chalk Ridge, Kempshott Infant, Four Lanes Infant, South View Junior, Hatch Warren Infant, Merton Junior, Kings Furlong Junior, Merton Infant, Manor Field Junior, South View Infant, Rucstall, Winklebury Junior, Winklebury Infant, Castle Hill Infant, Chiltern, Manor Field Infant, Maple Ridge, Limington House, Saxon Wood
35
11,877
C−AB−C+A−AC−C+C−B+C−CA−AC−CDCB+ACD−
After 16
Where Basingstoke’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
All 7 state secondaries in Basingstoke teach 11 to 16. Queen Mary's College is a state 16–19 school in the city. Basingstoke College of Technology, a further-education college, is in the city.
Secondaries with a sixth form
0 of 7
state schools in Basingstoke
Colleges within 12 miles
1
nearest: Basingstoke College of Technology
Grammar schools in Hampshire
0
no selective state secondaries
Special needs
Special schools and alternative provision in Basingstoke
Basingstoke has 6 special schools (Chiltern Way Academy Austen, Chiltern Way Academy Basingstoke, Dove House, Limington House, Maple Ridge and Saxon Wood: 689 pupils) and 1 alternative provision school, for pupils who can’t attend mainstream school for a time. A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Hampshire County Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Hampshire County Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
31st of 58 English towns and cities of 82,000 to 158,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Basingstoke, and the top and bottom of the group.
Tadley 5 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 6.3 mi
C
54%
45.7
Hook 2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 6.3 mi
A
71%
50.6
Odiham 3 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 6.7 mi
A
73%
50.6
Odiham has the best-graded schools nearby (A). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
•
Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Basingstoke: 9% (England’s average school: 8%).
•
Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
•
Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
•
Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
•
Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
•
Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
•
Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.
Questions about schools in Basingstoke
Are schools in Basingstoke good?
Basingstoke’s state schools earn a C+ against schools across England: primary results beat 47% of towns in England; secondary results beat 45% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Hampshire council.
What is the best secondary school in Basingstoke?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School: Attainment 8 of 58.1 and 63% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Basingstoke?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Rucstall Primary School: 82% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Basingstoke secondary schools have sixth forms?
No. All 7 state secondaries teach 11–16; students move at 16 to a college, a sixth form elsewhere or an apprenticeship.
How do I apply for a school place in Basingstoke?
Through Hampshire County Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
How many schools in Basingstoke are full?
6 of 40 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
How many state schools are in Basingstoke?
48 open state-funded schools are located in Basingstoke’s built-up area: 33 primary, 7 secondary and 8 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
