Portsmouth’s state schools trail 89% of towns in England on results
Reading, writing and maths at the expected standard: 54% of primary pupils in Portsmouth, below both Hampshire’s towns (63%) and towns in England (62%). 67 state-funded schools are located in Portsmouth’s built-up area. Portsmouth grades D for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #69 of 76 in Hampshire. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Portsmouth’s secondary results beat 15% of English towns; its primary results beat 17%. 54% of the city’s 11-year-olds meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England and 53% across Portsmouth. The spread between primaries is wide: 77% at St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School, 34% at Portsdown Primary School. Every school’s result ↓
After 16 it’s college
None of the 11 state secondaries in Portsmouth keeps pupils past 16. Most others go to a further-education or sixth-form college, or a sixth form in another town. After 16 ↓
Ark Ayrton beats its intake
Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually get lower results. At Ark Ayrton Primary Academy, 63% of pupils are on free school meals and 72% meet the expected standard; a typical school in England with that intake reaches 51%. Results and intake ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Portsmouth grades D for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (54% meet the standard)Better than 17% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (40.8 and 35%)Better than 15% of towns in England
Each of Portsmouth’s 36 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Portsmouth’s 11 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolPortsmouth’s average school
The primary figure: 36 primaries in the town, 7,367 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 11 secondaries in the town, 2,160 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 Portsmouth’s 67 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 Portsmouth’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondarySpecial, 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.
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 9% at Northern Infant School to 66% at Ark Charter Academy. Against schools with the same intake, Ark Ayrton Primary Academy does best: 72% with 63% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 51%. 11 of 36 primaries and 3 of 11 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 Portsmouth
Portsmouth Council handles applications for every state school in Portsmouth, 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. 8 of Portsmouth’s 61 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%; 7 schools are at or over it.
St John's Cathedral incl. nursery113%
Craneswater Junior106%
The Portsmouth105%
Trafalgar103%
Cottage Grove incl. nursery103%
Priory102%
St Swithun's incl. nursery100%
Springfield100%
Solent Junior100%
Solent Infant100%
Show all 61 schools
Admiral Lord Nelson100%
Corpus Christi99%
Court Lane Junior99%
Langstone98%
Miltoncross98%
Ark Charter98%
Wimborne98%
Red Barn98%
Medina97%
Ark Ayrton incl. nursery97%
Stamshaw Infant97%
Fernhurst Junior97%
St Jude's97%
Gatcombe Park97%
Wicor97%
St Edmund's96%
Northern Infant96%
Court Lane Infant96%
Cumberland Infant incl. nursery96%
Portsdown incl. nursery95%
Westover incl. nursery94%
Arundel Court incl. nursery94%
Mayfield93%
Meon Junior93%
Highbury93%
Ark Dickens incl. nursery93%
Southsea Infant93%
Copnor92%
Castle91%
Milton Park91%
Bramble Infant incl. nursery90%
Devonshire Infant90%
King's Academy College Park (Junior)88%
Northern Junior88%
Penbridge Infant incl. nursery87%
Penbridge Junior87%
Moorings Way Infant86%
King's Academy College Park (Infant)84%
The Flying Bull incl. nursery83%
New Horizons81%
Stamshaw Junior80%
Portchester Community80%
St George's Beneficial incl. nursery78%
The Victory incl. nursery78%
Castle View76%
Meon Infant74%
King's Academy Northern Parade (Junior)73%
Manor Infant incl. nursery71%
St Paul's incl. nursery65%
King's Academy Northern Parade (Infant)64%
Beacon View incl. nursery51%
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
67 state schools in Portsmouth
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 Portsmouth’s schoolsA4B8C21D1420 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.
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. 15 of Portsmouth’s 67 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
University of Chichester (Multi) Academy TrustArundel Court, Langstone, Court Lane Junior, The Flying Bull, Highbury, Court Lane Infant, Stamshaw Junior, Stamshaw Infant
8
3,465
D−BCD−CD
Thinking Schools Academy TrustThe Portsmouth, New Horizons, Penbridge Junior, Meon Junior, Penbridge Infant, Meon Infant, Moorings Way Infant
7
2,920
DC−C+B−
King's Group AcademiesKing's Academy College Park (Junior), King's Academy Northern Parade (Junior), King's Academy College Park (Infant), King's Academy Northern Parade (Infant)
4
1,321
DD
Salterns Academy TrustMayfield, Admiral Lord Nelson, Trafalgar
3
3,630
D−C−D
Ark SchoolsArk Charter, Ark Ayrton, Ark Dickens
3
1,824
C−A−B
De Curci TrustSpringfield, Solent Junior, Solent Infant
3
1,761
CC
United Learning TrustCastle View, The Victory, Beacon View
3
1,355
C−C−D−
Solent Academies TrustCliffdale, Mary Rose, Redwood Park
3
587
—
Gateway Multi Academy TrustCottage Grove, Milton Park
2
844
DD
Hamwic Education TrustWestover, Gatcombe Park
2
429
CC
Southern Education TrustThe Harbour, The Wymering
2
246
—
Bohunt Education TrustPriory
1
1,278
C+
Kemnal Academies TrustMiltoncross
1
983
D
Utc PortsmouthUTC Portsmouth
1
491
—
Edith Stein Catholic Academy TrustCorpus Christi
1
312
B−
Portsmouth CouncilSt Edmund's, Portchester Community, Copnor, Wimborne, Craneswater Junior, Wicor, St Jude's, Portsdown, Castle, St Swithun's, Fernhurst Junior, St George's Beneficial, St Paul's, St John's Cathedral, Manor Infant, Northern Junior, Red Barn, Medina, Cumberland Infant, Devonshire Infant, Southsea Infant, Bramble Infant, Northern Infant
23
8,290
AC−DC−CA−C+D−B+BCC−B+AC+B−C−
After 16
Where Portsmouth’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 11 state secondaries in Portsmouth teach 11 to 16. City of Portsmouth College, a further-education college, is in the city.
Special schools and alternative provision in Portsmouth
Portsmouth has 5 special schools (Cliffdale, Mary Rose, Redwood Park, The Harbour and The Wymering: 833 pupils). A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Portsmouth 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 ↑
Portsmouth Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
44th of 44 English towns and cities of 156,000 to 301,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Portsmouth, and the top and bottom of the group.
Fareham has the best-graded schools nearby (B). 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 Portsmouth: 3% (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 Portsmouth
Are schools in Portsmouth good?
Portsmouth’s state schools earn a D against schools across England: primary results beat 17% of towns in England; secondary results beat 15% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Portsmouth council.
What is the best secondary school in Portsmouth?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, St Edmund's Catholic School: Attainment 8 of 56 and 64% 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 Portsmouth?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School: 77% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Portsmouth secondary schools have sixth forms?
No. All 11 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 Portsmouth?
Through Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth are full?
7 of 61 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 Portsmouth?
67 open state-funded schools are located in Portsmouth’s built-up area: 50 primary, 11 secondary and 6 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.
