Testbourne Community School

Testbourne Community School has made notable progress since its last inspection 13 years ago, moving from an outstanding rating to achieving a good overall effectiveness. The school creates a supportive and engaging environment where pupils are encouraged to embrace personal integrity and responsibility. With a broad curriculum and strong emphasis on character education, students are well-prepared for future endeavors, benefiting from various extracurricular activities and comprehensive support for pupils with special educational needs. While teaching is generally effective, some areas require consistency in curriculum implementation and behavior management to enhance learning outcomes further.

Strengths

• Pupils are confident and articulate, contributing positively to the school environment.
• The school provides a broad and ambitious curriculum that ignites a passion for learning.
• Teachers present information clearly and support pupils’ understanding effectively.
• Strong personal development programs prepare students for life beyond school.
• Pupils demonstrate positive behavior and respect for diversity.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of the curriculum in a small number of subjects.
• Some teachers do not adapt lessons effectively to meet individual learning needs.
• The behavior management system is not consistently applied by all staff.

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 Testbourne Community School attended 91.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.1% 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, 7.4% of pupils at Testbourne Community School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were 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 Testbourne Community School had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.3% 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, 15.2% of pupils at Testbourne Community 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 Testbourne Community School received £7,896 and spent £7,753 for each of its 949 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £555,000 (£585 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 Basingstoke And Deane · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is Testbourne Community School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Testbourne Community School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was Testbourne Community School last inspected by Ofsted?

Testbourne Community School was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does Testbourne Community School have?

Testbourne Community School has 949 pupils on roll.

What age range does Testbourne Community School cover?

Testbourne Community School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Testbourne Community School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 51.7, and 59% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Testbourne Community School?

Testbourne Community School is at Micheldever Road, Whitchurch, Hampshire, RG28 7JF.