Wildern School

Wildern School has shown significant improvement since its last inspection, achieving a 'Good' overall effectiveness rating. The school prepares pupils well for life beyond education, fostering a strong understanding of tolerance and respect through initiatives like the diversity leaders group. Pupils generally feel safe and supported, and the majority exhibit positive behavior and attitudes towards their learning. The school offers a broad curriculum and has effectively addressed the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). However, there remains a challenge in fully engaging some pupils, leading to lower attendance and inconsistent attitudes towards education.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well across a range of academic and vocational subjects.
• The curriculum is well-structured and sequenced.
• Teachers effectively model and explain important concepts.
• Strong support and strategies for pupils with lower reading ages.
• Comprehensive personal development program addressing important life skills.
• Strong careers guidance tailored to pupils' aspirations.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils struggle with attendance and engagement.
• Inconsistent delivery of practice across some areas of the school.

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 Wildern School attended 91.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.2% 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 Wildern 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 Wildern School had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.5% 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, 11.7% of pupils at Wildern School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.4% 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 2024–25 Wildern School received £8,303 and spent £8,166 for each of its 1,800 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,000,000 (£1,111 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Raise Education Trust, income was £8,048 and spending £7,814 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Wildern School is part of Raise Education Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Deer Park School Southampton
• Boorley Park Botley

What is Wildern School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wildern School is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Wildern School last inspected by Ofsted?

Wildern School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Wildern School have?

Wildern School has 1,674 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wildern School cover?

Wildern School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Wildern School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.4, and 43% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Wildern School?

Wildern School is at Wildern Lane, Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire, SO30 4EJ.