The Portsmouth Academy
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The Portsmouth Academy is a sponsored academy in Portsmouth for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 1,203 pupils, 53 more than it has places for. About 56 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 5 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.
St Mary's Road, Portsmouth, PO1 5PF0333 360 2200theportsmouthacademy.org.ukMrs Sarah Dedman principalAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 27 April 2022 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
239 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Portsmouth | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 239 | 219 | 218 | 190 | 97 | 79 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 33.5 | 34.8 | 34.5 | 40.5 | 47.1 | 43.9 | 42.0 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -1.10 | -1.03 | -0.63 | +0.13 | +0.18 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 21% | 25% | 22% | 36% | 46% | 47% | 38% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 41% | 46% | 43% | 55% | 60% | 56% | 60% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.00 | 3.10 | 3.02 | 3.53 | 4.01 | 3.64 | 3.70 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 39% | 47% | 38% | 42% | 16% | 18% | 43% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 26.5 | 28.9 | 27.1 | 30.9 | 35.1 | 41.9 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 41.0 | 40.4 | 40.4 | 49.4 | 55.2 | 45.9 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 17.7 | 19.9 | 23.7 | 25.8 | 25.4 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 51.1 | 54.9 | 64.7 | 63.5 | 67.6 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 19 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Art and Design (15% here, 58% across England), French (18% here, 60% across England), Design & Technology (14% here, 50% across England), Computer Science (25% here, 56% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 237 | 8% | 33% | 47% | 54% | 2,953 of 3,210 |
| Mathematics | 236 | 11% | 29% | 46% | 53% | 2,993 of 3,211 |
| English Literature | 228 | 8% | 32% | 49% | 58% | 3,013 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 165 | 6% | 19% | 35% | 36% | 2,683 of 3,084 |
| History | 128 | 17% | 38% | 47% | 52% | 2,349 of 3,126 |
| Geography | 122 | 5% | 23% | 30% | 51% | 2,886 of 3,116 |
| Art and Design | 67 | 3% | 15% | 24% | 58% | 2,749 of 2,818 |
| Biology | 56 | 16% | 54% | 71% | 82% | 2,342 of 2,570 |
| Chemistry | 55 | 22% | 58% | 71% | 81% | 2,215 of 2,537 |
| Religious Studies | 54 | 17% | 41% | 52% | 60% | 1,563 of 1,825 |
| Physics | 54 | 17% | 57% | 72% | 82% | 2,265 of 2,546 |
| Spanish | 50 | 8% | 28% | 38% | 54% | 1,735 of 1,941 |
| Media / Film / TV | 49 | 6% | 41% | 59% | 55% | 443 of 580 |
| French | 44 | 5% | 18% | 30% | 60% | 1,928 of 1,974 |
| Design & Technology | 42 | 2% | 14% | 21% | 50% | 1,387 of 1,478 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 37 | 3% | 27% | 46% | 52% | 944 of 1,098 |
| Computer Science | 36 | 14% | 25% | 58% | 56% | 1,680 of 1,861 |
| Statistics | 27 | 22% | 56% | 63% | 51% | 223 of 375 |
| Other Modern Languages | 7 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 49% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
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. 2 of the 3 gaps are 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 GCSE, 2025
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
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have grown by 9% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.
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 Portsmouth council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
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.
Specialist SEND provision. SEN unit with 18 pupils, for moderate 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 Portsmouth with moderate learning difficulties provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (112), Specific learning difficulty (81), Moderate learning difficulty (70), language and communications needs (31), Autistic spectrum disorder (23), Other difficulty or disability (4).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 1,203 | 1,243 | 1,217 | 1,173 | 1,128 | 973 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 56% | 53% | 52% | 47% | 42% | 40% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 31% | 30% | 28% | 26% | 25% | 24% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 7% | 11% | 12% | 10% | 16% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 4% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 88.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 12.0% | 12.4% | 12.3% | 11.3% | 7.4% | 6.1% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.4% | 6.9% | 7.1% | 6.1% | 4.0% | 3.1% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 6.6% | 5.5% | 5.2% | 5.2% | 3.4% | 3.0% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 31.4% | 38.3% | 40.4% | 37.9% | 20.5% | 16.2% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 87.8 | 92.2 | 57.1 | 13.4 | 19.3 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 218 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 77%, compared with 91% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 85% | 88% | 92% | 92% |
| Education | 79% | 83% | 86% | 90% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| Work | 3% | 3% | 6% | 1% |
| Not in education, work or training | 9% | 6% | 6% | 5% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Edmund's Catholic School | Roman Catholic | 980 m | 1,157 | Outstanding 2022 | 95 | Compare |
| Priory School | Academy | 0.6 miles | 1,278 | Good 2022 | 30 | Compare |
| Miltoncross Academy | Academy | 0.7 miles | 983 | No overall grade 2025 | 10 | Compare |
| Ark Charter Academy | Academy | 0.8 miles | 883 | No overall grade 2024 | 25 | Compare |
| Mayfield School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 1,354 | Inadequate 2022 | 1 | Compare |
| Admiral Lord Nelson School | Academy | 1.4 miles | 1,245 | Report card 2026 | 31 | Compare |
| Trafalgar School | Academy | 1.8 miles | 1,031 | Good 2023 | 51 | Compare |
| UTC Portsmouth | University technical college | 1.8 miles | 491 | Report card 2025 | 50 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares The Portsmouth Academy with the 49 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 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than The Portsmouth Academy, 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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ark Charter Academy | Academy | 0.8 miles | 883 | No overall grade 2024 | 25 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 5 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 5% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 3 to 7. 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 at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | well below | -0.26 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 239 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 17% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 4.4 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | well below | -0.40 | DfE progress measure; 239 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | well below | -0.12 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.15 | 2024/25; 1,285 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well below | -0.22 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 239 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | well below | -0.06 | 218 pupils |
| What parents say | 0% | 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 The Portsmouth Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. The Portsmouth Academy scores 5 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 3 to 7, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is The Portsmouth Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Portsmouth Academy good at its last full inspection on 27 April 2022. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How good are The Portsmouth Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 21% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 33.5, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does The Portsmouth Academy have?
1,203 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,150 places, so it is 105% full.
Is The Portsmouth Academy oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at The Portsmouth Academy?
Pupils were in school 88.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 31% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at The Portsmouth Academy?
The average class had 21.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 2% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does The Portsmouth Academy have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has sen unit for moderate learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does The Portsmouth Academy have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 85% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- St Mary's Road, Portsmouth, PO1 5PF
- Telephone
- 0333 360 2200
- Website
- www.theportsmouthacademy.org.uk
- Principal
- Mrs Sarah Dedman
- Type of school
- Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- The Thinking Schools Academy Trust (26 schools)
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- Ward
- Fratton
- Constituency
- Portsmouth South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2013 (new provision)
- URN
- 139714 · LAESTAB 8514002 · UKPRN 10041993
- Formerly
- City of Portsmouth Girls' School
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.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- 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.