The Portsmouth Academy

The Portsmouth Academy has undergone an urgent inspection to assess its safeguarding effectiveness and the quality of education being provided, prompted by concerns regarding leadership, management, and student behavior. The inspection revealed that while safeguarding measures are effective and the leadership team is committed to improvements, challenges remain, particularly in the identification and support of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), which affects their attendance and behavior. The school is in the process of implementing strategies to enhance student behavior and ensure that all pupils receive the necessary support to thrive academically.

Strengths

• Safeguarding measures are effective and well-implemented.
• The leadership team has a clear understanding of areas needing improvement.
• Recent support for pupils with more complex needs has shown positive outcomes.
• The school has a commitment to improving behavior and learning environments.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils' SEND needs are not identified quickly enough, particularly in Years 7 and 8.
• A small minority of pupils disrupt learning, affecting overall student behavior.
• Attendance analysis needs to be more thorough to identify patterns of absence.

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 Portsmouth Academy attended 88.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.4% 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, 21.5% of pupils at The Portsmouth Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 The Portsmouth Academy had 15.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.4% 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, 21.5% of pupils at The Portsmouth Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 24 pupils.

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 The Portsmouth Academy received £9,239 and spent £8,677 for each of its 1,243 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £476,000 (£383 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, income was £8,363 and spending £8,363 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 Portsmouth · Portsmouth local authority: places and applications

The Portsmouth Academy is part of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, which runs 25 schools. The nearest others:

• Penbridge Infant School Portsmouth
• Penbridge Junior School Portsmouth
• New Horizons Primary School Portsmouth
• Meon Junior School Portsmouth
• Meon Infant School Southsea
• Moorings Way Infant School Southsea
• Cedar Children's Academy Rochester
• The Rochester Grammar School Rochester
• Gordons Children's Academy, Junior Rochester
• Gordons Children's Academy, Infant Rochester

What is The Portsmouth Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Portsmouth Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was The Portsmouth Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Portsmouth Academy was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does The Portsmouth Academy have?

The Portsmouth Academy has 1,203 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Portsmouth Academy cover?

The Portsmouth Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Portsmouth Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 34.5, and 24% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Portsmouth Academy?

The Portsmouth Academy is at St Mary's Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 5PF.