School Chooser

Portsmouth schools in numbers

How Portsmouth's 65 schools compare with South East and England on every headline measure, with the council's rank out of the English councils that have data. Ranks run from best to worst for each measure (highest attendance first, lowest exclusions first, and so on).

Schools65open, all types
Pupils29,581on roll
Primary schools46
Secondary schools11

Who the pupils are

MeasurePortsmouthSouth EastEnglandRank
Pupils from low-income familiesJanuary 2026 · 61 schools36.2%21.8%26.3%122ndof 151
Pupils attracting pupil premiumnow · 61 schools36.3%22.2%27.1%115thof 151
Pupils learning EnglishJanuary 2026 · 61 schools22.6%15.7%18.6%63rdof 151
Pupils with SEN supportJanuary 2025 · 61 schools13.5%13.8%14.5%104thof 151
Pupils with an EHC planJanuary 2025 · 61 schools11.4%12.9%11.6%85thof 151

Classrooms and teachers

MeasurePortsmouthSouth EastEnglandRank
Average class sizeJanuary 2026 · 55 schools26.425.825.0136thof 151
Classes with more than 30 pupilsJanuary 2026 · 55 schools7.2%12.7%10.6%43rdof 151
Pupils per teacherJanuary 2026 · 61 schools18.719.019.058thof 151
Teachers leaving each year2024/25 · 61 schools14.9%15.3%15.0%81stof 151
Average teacher payJanuary 2026 · 61 schools£50,114£50,407£51,377114thof 151
Sick days per teacher2024/25 · 61 schools5.44.34.7132ndof 151

Attendance and behaviour

MeasurePortsmouthSouth EastEnglandRank
Attendance2024/25 · 61 schools92.7%93.7%93.8%145thof 151
Persistently absent pupils2024/25 · 61 schools18.1%15.7%15.8%111thof 151
Suspensions per 100 pupils2024/25 · 61 schools14.26.87.0145thof 151

Money

MeasurePortsmouthSouth EastEnglandRank
Spend per pupil2024/25 · 57 schools£9,868£8,689£9,273
Spent on teachers per pupil2024/25 · 57 schools£4,350£4,055£4,22958thof 151
Reserves as a share of income2024/25 · 58 schools9.3%8.5%8.3%56thof 151
Schools in deficit2024/25 · 58 schools5.2%11.7%14.1%19thof 151

Results

MeasurePortsmouthSouth EastEnglandRank
Strong pass in English and maths GCSE2024/25 · 10 schools38.1%48.6%46.1%134thof 150
Average GCSE score2024/25 · 10 schools42.047.947.0142ndof 150
Reached the expected level at 112024/25 · 32 schools56.1%63.1%63.1%148thof 151
Reached the higher level at 112024/25 · 32 schools3.1%8.7%8.3%151stof 151

Ofsted, score and places

MeasurePortsmouthSouth EastEnglandRank
Inspected under the new report cardsnow · 57 schools25%13%13%5thof 151
Good or outstanding (old grades)now · 32 schools94%95%94%94thof 151
Scored above similar schoolsnow · 54 schools7%33%35%150thof 151
Places taken2024/25 · 56 schools91.6%88.2%86.2%19thof 151
Academies and free schoolsnow · 61 schools72%45%52%28thof 154
Free breakfast clubsnow · 61 schools8.2%6.8%12.0%104thof 154

Trends

Trend
Attendance
2016 to 2025
PortsmouthEngland
Portsmouth 2016: 95.4%95.4%Portsmouth 2017: 95.4%95.4%Portsmouth 2018: 95.2%95.2%Portsmouth 2019: 95.3%95.3%Portsmouth 2021: 95.1%95.1%Portsmouth 2022: 92.4%92.4%Portsmouth 2023: 92.4%92.4%Portsmouth 2024: 92.6%92.6%Portsmouth 2025: 92.7%92.7%England 2016: 95.6%England 2017: 95.5%England 2018: 95.3%England 2019: 95.4%England 2021: 95.5%England 2022: 92.9%England 2023: 93.2%England 2024: 93.4%England 2025: 93.8%201620172018201920212022202320242025
Since 2016: -2.7%
Trend
Pupils from low-income families
2019 to 2026
PortsmouthEngland
Portsmouth 2019: 22.2%22.2%Portsmouth 2021: 31.6%31.6%Portsmouth 2022: 33.2%33.2%Portsmouth 2023: 33.6%33.6%Portsmouth 2024: 34.4%34.4%Portsmouth 2025: 34.8%34.8%Portsmouth 2026: 36.2%36.2%England 2019: 16.0%England 2021: 21.2%England 2022: 22.6%England 2023: 24.4%England 2024: 25.0%England 2025: 25.8%England 2026: 26.3%2019202120222023202420252026
Since 2019: +14.0%
Trend
Strong pass in English and maths GCSE
2017 to 2025
PortsmouthEngland
Portsmouth 2017: 41.4%41.4%Portsmouth 2018: 42.6%42.6%Portsmouth 2019: 37.0%37.0%Portsmouth 2022: 44.2%44.2%Portsmouth 2023: 34.8%34.8%Portsmouth 2024: 36.9%36.9%Portsmouth 2025: 38.1%38.1%England 2017: 45.4%England 2018: 45.1%England 2019: 44.7%England 2022: 50.6%England 2023: 46.0%England 2024: 46.9%England 2025: 46.1%2017201820192022202320242025
Since 2017: -3.4%
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2016 to 2025
PortsmouthEngland
Portsmouth 2016: 49.9%49.9%Portsmouth 2017: 58.7%58.7%Portsmouth 2018: 57.5%57.5%Portsmouth 2019: 60.9%60.9%Portsmouth 2023: 51.3%51.3%Portsmouth 2024: 53.1%53.1%Portsmouth 2025: 56.1%56.1%England 2016: 55.8%England 2017: 63.4%England 2018: 66.3%England 2019: 66.6%England 2023: 60.7%England 2024: 61.7%England 2025: 63.1%2016201720182019202320242025
Since 2016: +6.2%
Trend
Suspensions per 100 pupils
2007 to 2025
PortsmouthEngland
Portsmouth 2007: 2.82.8Portsmouth 2008: 1.5Portsmouth 2009: 2.02.0Portsmouth 2010: 3.4Portsmouth 2011: 3.03.0Portsmouth 2012: 3.9Portsmouth 2013: 2.12.1Portsmouth 2014: 3.6Portsmouth 2015: 2.72.7Portsmouth 2016: 3.6Portsmouth 2017: 3.43.4Portsmouth 2018: 4.0Portsmouth 2019: 5.55.5Portsmouth 2020: 2.2Portsmouth 2021: 2.82.8Portsmouth 2022: 3.8Portsmouth 2023: 9.29.2Portsmouth 2024: 13.2Portsmouth 2025: 14.214.2England 2007: 2.7England 2008: 2.6England 2009: 2.5England 2010: 2.4England 2011: 2.7England 2012: 2.6England 2013: 2.6England 2014: 2.7England 2015: 3.1England 2016: 3.3England 2017: 3.6England 2018: 3.9England 2019: 4.0England 2020: 2.8England 2021: 2.9England 2022: 4.4England 2023: 5.8England 2024: 7.0England 2025: 7.02007200920112013201520172019202120232025
Since 2007: +11.5