Bridgemary School

Bridgemary School is a mainstream secondary school in Gosport, part of The Kemnal Academies Trust, with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Following a full inspection in June and July 2026, the school has been judged to require significant improvement. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe. However, overall performance is weak: pupils' achievement is an urgent concern, with national test results significantly below national averages for several years, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The achievement gap for disadvantaged pupils has widened, and pupils are not sufficiently prepared for their next steps. There are notable strengths in behaviour and pastoral care. Pupils are happy, feel safe, and have positive relationships with staff and each other. Behaviour has improved, suspensions are falling, bullying is rare, and staff respond quickly when concerns arise. The school is committed to inclusion, and recent work has improved identification of SEND and made support available more quickly. Staff morale is positive, and leaders have an accurate understanding of what needs to improve, with trust oversight recently strengthened. However, leaders have not acted swiftly enough to embed changes since the previous inspection. Key concerns remain around attendance and teaching. Persistent absence is too high, especially for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils, and pupils spend fewer than 32.5 hours in school each week. Curriculum delivery is inconsistent: teachers do not always check understanding or resolve gaps, higher-attaining pupils are not routinely challenged, and support for disadvantaged pupils is not consistently effective. Personal development at key stage 4 is not delivered consistently, and pupils with prolonged absence miss PSHE education. Leaders have suitable plans in place, but their impact is at an early stage.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met; pupils feel safe and well supported.
• Behaviour has improved, suspensions are falling, and classrooms are orderly.
• Pupils are generally polite, respectful, and cases of bullying are rare.
• Pastoral care and support for vulnerable pupils are high priorities.
• The school is committed to inclusion and has improved SEND identification and support.
• Staff understand SEND needs and work closely with families and external agencies.
• Looked-after pupils are well supported and feel included.
• The curriculum is broad and well organised.
• Teachers generally have secure subject knowledge.
• Staff benefit from professional learning and report positive morale.
• Leaders manage workload sensibly and staff feel well supported.
• A wide range of enrichment opportunities, clubs, and residential visits are available.
• Careers guidance is effective in helping pupils plan future pathways.
• Alternative provision is used sparingly and monitored appropriately.
• Leaders have an accurate understanding of strengths and areas for improvement, and trust oversight has been strengthened.

Areas for Improvement

• Persistent absence remains too high, especially for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils.
• Too many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not attend school often enough, leading to gaps in knowledge.
• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent, with variations in checking understanding and using it to inform learning.
• Higher-attaining pupils are not routinely given sufficiently challenging work.
• Pupils spend fewer than 32.5 hours in school each week, limiting their learning.
• Support for disadvantaged pupils is less consistent and does not always help them achieve.
• Leaders' work with disadvantaged pupils is not precise enough, and additional funding is not used effectively enough.
• Leaders have not acted swiftly enough to embed changes since the previous inspection.
• Pupils' achievement is an urgent concern; national test results have been significantly below average for several years.
• The achievement gap between disadvantaged pupils and others nationally has widened.
• Pupils' work in extended writing is often of poor quality, and gaps in knowledge undermine progress.
• Leaders' actions to improve achievement have been too slow.
• Personal development at key stage 4, including safety and healthy relationships, is not taught consistently.
• Pupils with prolonged absence do not receive the same PSHE education as their peers.
• Pupils are keen to have more opportunities to share ideas about the school.
• Some pupils do not have a secure understanding of all aspects of citizenship learning.

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 Bridgemary School attended 89.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 30.5% 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, 13.0% of pupils at Bridgemary School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Bridgemary School had 19.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.1% 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, 17.6% of pupils at Bridgemary School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.9% 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 Bridgemary School received £7,899 and spent £8,268 for each of its 792 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £356,000 (£449 per pupil).

Across all 45 schools of The Kemnal Academies Trust, income was £8,501 and spending £8,452 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 Gosport · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

Bridgemary School is part of The Kemnal Academies Trust, which runs 45 schools. The nearest others:

• Miltoncross Academy Portsmouth
• Front Lawn Primary Academy Havant
• Havant Academy Havant
• Chichester High School Chichester
• The Academy, Selsey Chichester
• Portfield Primary Academy West Sussex
• Seal Primary Academy Selsey
• Tangmere Primary Academy Chichester
• Weyfield Primary Academy Guildford
• The Bewbush Academy Crawley

What is Bridgemary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bridgemary School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Bridgemary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bridgemary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Bridgemary School have?

Bridgemary School has 814 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bridgemary School cover?

Bridgemary School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Bridgemary School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 31.4, and 16% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Bridgemary School?

Bridgemary School is at Wych Lane, Bridgemary, Gosport, Hampshire, PO13 0JN.