The Hamble School

The Hamble School is a happy, inclusive and calm secondary school where pupils feel safe and most behave well. Inspectors found a broad, ambitious curriculum, consistent teaching and rare disruption, with pupils remembering more and academic outcomes improving. Provision for pupils with SEND is a particular strength, attendance and punctuality have improved, and personal development, careers and safeguarding are well organised. Leaders and governors have taken a strategic approach; many parents, pupils and staff describe the changes as transformational, and staffing is more stable. However, a small group of pupils does not consistently meet the school’s high expectations for behaviour and attendance, so they miss too much school and are less well prepared for life in modern Britain. Some pupils, especially those with SEND and some disadvantaged pupils, have gaps in knowledge and are not achieving as highly as they should. The school needs to embed recent curriculum and teaching improvements so these gaps are filled and more pupils achieve the curriculum’s ambition. This was a graded inspection of a community secondary comprehensive school following a previous inspection that judged it to require improvement. The headteacher has been in post since January 2023, and under the current framework the school receives judgements for key areas but no overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• Happy, inclusive and calm school with a strong positive ethos
• Pupils are courteous, friendly and considerate and feel safe
• Most pupils embrace high expectations for behaviour, and disruption is rare
• Broad and ambitious curriculum revised in several subjects
• Consistent teaching approach helps pupils remember more and outcomes improve
• Strong SEND provision with robust processes and good partnership with parents
• Attendance and punctuality have improved, with fewer persistent absentees
• Well-organised personal development, including safety and careers education
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Leaders and governors take a strategic approach, with changes described as transformational
• Staff are well supported in professional development, workload and wellbeing, and staffing is more stable

Areas for Improvement

• A small group of pupils does not consistently follow high expectations for behaviour and attendance
• Some pupils miss too much school time and are less well prepared for life in modern Britain
• Suspensions need to decrease and attendance needs to improve further for these pupils
• Some pupils, especially those with SEND and some disadvantaged pupils, have gaps in knowledge
• These pupils are not achieving as highly as they should
• Curriculum and teaching improvements need embedding so knowledge gaps are filled and more pupils achieve the curriculum’s ambition

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Hamble School attended 89.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 28.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 10.2% of pupils at The Hamble School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 The Hamble School had 17.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 25.3% of pupils at The Hamble School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 The Hamble School received £8,131 and spent £8,028 for each of its 1,139 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £624,000 (-£548 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Southampton · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is The Hamble School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Hamble School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was The Hamble School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Hamble School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does The Hamble School have?

The Hamble School has 1,139 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Hamble School cover?

The Hamble School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Hamble School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 48.1, and 53% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Hamble School?

The Hamble School is at Satchell Lane, Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton, Hampshire, SO31 4NE.