Testwood School

Testwood School is performing well overall, effectively maintaining the high standards from its previous good inspection. The school has established a nurturing environment where pupils feel safe and valued, thanks to positive relationships between staff and students. There is a commendable emphasis on inclusion, ensuring that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive prompt support and engage fully in the curriculum. Recent curricular changes have improved pupil knowledge depth, particularly in key stage 3, as they gain exposure to more content before selecting their key stage 4 options. However, variability in the teaching of subject-specific vocabulary and the consistency of attendance strategies represent areas that still require attention for continued improvement.

Strengths

• Strong sense of pride and happiness among pupils.
• Positive and mutually respectful relationships among pupils and staff.
• High expectations for pupil achievement and clear vision for improvement.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, leading to strong engagement.
• Successful initiatives improving early-stage reading skills.
• Broad and engaging extra-curricular provision for all pupils.
• Staff well-being is prioritized effectively by school leaders.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent teaching of subject-specific vocabulary affecting understanding.
• Variability in checks of pupil understanding and feedback on work.
• Inconsistent application of attendance improvement strategies.

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 Testwood School attended 89.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 28.5% 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 Testwood 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 Testwood School had 17.2 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, 13.2% of pupils at Testwood School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 Testwood School received £8,649 and spent £8,528 for each of its 854 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £830,000 (£972 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

What is Testwood School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Testwood School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Testwood School last inspected by Ofsted?

Testwood School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Testwood School have?

Testwood School has 820 pupils on roll.

What age range does Testwood School cover?

Testwood School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Testwood School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.0, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Testwood School?

Testwood School is at Testwood Lane, Totton, Southampton, Hampshire, SO40 3ZW.