School Chooser

Hale Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedCouncil73 pupilsFordingbridgeHampshire
School Chooser Score
37
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 14 to 70, so it could be “below”
Out of 100. Better than 21% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, January 2024
Reached the expected level at 1169%England 63%
Attendance92.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families7%Far fewer than most schools
Places25 spare73 pupils, 98 places
Pupils per teacher22.5School workforce census

Hale Primary School is a council school in Fordingbridge for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 73 pupils and room for 98. About 7 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 37 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 21% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Hatchett Green, Hale, Fordingbridge, SP6 2NE01725 510436forestedgelearning.co.ukMrs Tracy Allen headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 30 January 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

16 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1169%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level25%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 64%64%20172018: 87%87%20182019: 75%75%20192023: 63%63%20232024: 50%50%20242025: 69%69%2025
Since 2017: +5%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017HampshireEngland
Pupils tested161016161514
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths69%50%63%75%87%64%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths25%0%19%6%27%21%9%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0103.0109.0106.0108.0104.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0102.0103.0107.0107.0105.0104.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0101.0108.0106.0110.0105.0104.8105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard81%70%81%94%93%79%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard69%50%69%81%87%79%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)81%70%81%75%93%71%
Reading progressReading progress score+3.0+1.8+0.6+0.4
Maths progressMaths progress score-2.1+1.9+0.0+0.6

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
75%63%
Gap 12 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Plenty of spare places70 pupils for 105 places, 2024/25
67% full

35 places were empty (33% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 19% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (8 offers for 17 places).

EntryPlacesApplied at allGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary17208all offeredLA
2025 Primary17248all offeredLA
2024 Primary17167all offeredLA
2023 Primary17229all offeredLA
2022 Primary17167all offeredLA

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll73Census January 2026
Places9874% full
Pupils from low-income families7%7% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English6%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support15%11 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%3 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.33 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)7%£7,750 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls32 / 41
White British pupils89%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (5), language and communications needs (4), Specific learning difficulty (2), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), Physical disability (1), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll736966718796
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals7%7%11%7%7%4%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language6%1%0%0%0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support17%12%16%7%5%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%5%3%5%4%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance92.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school22.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence7.3%6.8%4.9%5.1%1.9%2.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence6.7%5.9%4.3%4.7%1.7%1.9%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.6%0.9%0.5%0.4%0.2%0.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence22.1%17.7%13.0%11.1%2.2%1.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers3.2full-time equivalent, 6 people
Pupils per teacher22.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants3.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£46,669
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.52024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£8,152England £7,738. Total £562k
Income per pupil£7,879England £7,697. Total £544k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,478England £3,480
Money in reserve32%A lot put by: £175k, £2,529 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£19kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£8,152spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate55 per 1,000 people40% lower than the England average
Typical house price£382,750New Forest
Nearest bus stop160 mHale Village Green, 3 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Morgan's Vale and Woodfalls Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles109Report card 202663Compare
Downton CofE VA Primary SchoolChurch of England2.0 miles272Good 202071Compare
Breamore Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England2.3 miles77No overall grade 202462Compare
Fordingbridge Junior SchoolCouncil3.7 miles217Good 202354Compare
Fordingbridge Infant SchoolCouncil3.7 miles160Not inspectedCompare
The New Forest Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy3.7 miles160No overall grade 202469Compare
Whiteparish All Saints Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England4.2 miles95Good 202383Compare
Hyde Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England4.5 miles33Good 20235Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Hale Primary School with the 44 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats21%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 37 is 26 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 63 · highest 89100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 44 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Hale Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Copythorne CofE Infant SchoolChurch of England7.6 miles71Report card 202643Compare
Pitton Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy7.7 miles68Good 202484Compare
Wimborne St Giles Church of England First School and NurseryAcademy11.0 miles70Good 202365Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 37 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 37% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 14 to 70. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%above
+0.10
2025 and 2023 results; 16 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.6 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
+0.02
DfE progress measure; 16 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.29
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.08
2024/25; 68 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.08
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 16 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Hale Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Hale Primary School scores 37 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 21% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 14 to 70, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Hale Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Hale Primary School good at its last full inspection on 30 January 2024.

How good are Hale Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 69% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 25% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Hale Primary School have?

73 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 98 places, so it is 74% full.

Is Hale Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 35 places were empty in 2024/25 (33% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Hale Primary School?

Pupils were in school 92.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 22% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Hale Primary School?

The average class had 24.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Hatchett Green, Hale, Fordingbridge, SP6 2NE
Telephone
01725 510436
Website
www.forestedgelearning.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Tracy Allen
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Hampshire
Ward
Downlands & Forest North
Constituency
New Forest West
Setting
Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
URN
115900 · LAESTAB 8502090 · UKPRN 10080642

Where these figures come from