Portfield School
Portfield School is a non-maintained special school in Christchurch for boys and girls aged 4 to 19. It has 144 pupils and room for 150. About 25 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England.
Parley Lane, Christchurch, BH23 6BP01202 573808autism-unlimited.org/educationMrs Anna Hewitt head teacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
13 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. That usually means the year group was too small to publish without identifying children.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (141), language and communications needs (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 144 | 137 | 119 | 110 | 107 | 90 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 28% | 30% | 33% | 36% | 39% | 37% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 7% | 5% | 5% | 6% | 5% | 4% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.3% | 10.4% | 8.0% | 14.4% | 23.5% | 8.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.2% | 6.8% | 6.0% | 10.0% | 19.1% | 3.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.0% | 3.6% | 2.0% | 4.4% | 4.4% | 4.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 27.3% | 26.6% | 23.3% | 43.3% | 81.8% | 24.6% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 13 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% |
The area around the school
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Epiphany School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 417 | Good 2023 | 70 | Compare |
| Parley First School | Academy | 1.5 miles | 313 | Good 2023 | 39 | Compare |
| Muscliff Primary School | Academy | 1.5 miles | 528 | Good 2024 | 76 | Compare |
| Kinson Academy | Academy | 1.9 miles | 179 | Good 2022 | 41 | Compare |
| Hill View Primary Academy | Academy | 1.9 miles | 601 | Good 2024 | 38 | Compare |
| Ferndown First School | Academy | 2.1 miles | 348 | Good 2023 | 26 | Compare |
| Bournemouth School for Girls | Academy (grammar) | 2.1 miles | 1,290 | Outstanding 2024 | 96 | Compare |
| Winton Primary School | Academy | 2.1 miles | 840 | Good 2024 | 96 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Portfield School a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Portfield School yet.
How many pupils does Portfield School have?
144 pupils aged 4 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 150 places, so it is 96% full.
What is attendance like at Portfield School?
Pupils were in school 91.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 27% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Portfield School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Portfield School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Parley Lane, Christchurch, BH23 6BP
- Telephone
- 01202 573808
- Website
- www.autism-unlimited.org/education
- Head Teacher
- Mrs Anna Hewitt
- Type of school
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 4-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Ward
- Commons
- Constituency
- Christchurch
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 11 May 1971
- URN
- 113942 · LAESTAB 8397000 · UKPRN 10017071
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.