Admiral Lord Nelson School

Admiral Lord Nelson School is a larger-than-average secondary school within The Salterns Academy Trust, and this full inspection found it performing at the expected standard across the evaluated areas. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils benefit from a rich, ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum, and they produce high-quality work and speak confidently about their learning. Pupils with SEND achieve well from their starting points, and the school's reading, writing, spelling and mathematics provision effectively closes gaps. Attendance has improved to national averages, behaviour is calm and orderly, low-level disruption is rare, and bullying or harassment is dealt with effectively. Leadership, governance, inclusion and personal development are strengths, with strong careers education, pastoral care and extra-curricular opportunities. However, the school is not yet consistently excellent in every respect. In a small number of lessons, teachers' checks for understanding and adaptations for pupils with SEND or disadvantaged pupils are not precise enough, which can leave gaps unaddressed. The personal development curriculum is generally strong, but pupils' knowledge of fundamental British values and protected characteristics is less detailed in some areas. Published performance data for 2024/25 also shows outcomes below national averages in key measures, including English and maths grade 5, Attainment 8 and Progress 8, with disadvantaged pupils performing particularly below national and a wide disadvantage gap. Leaders are aware of these issues and are refining support, but the remaining inconsistencies are the main areas for further development.

Strengths

• Rich, ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum that prepares pupils well for further education and employment.
• Pupils produce high-quality work and can talk in detail about what they have learned.
• Pupils with SEND achieve well from their starting points and receive effective support.
• Strong reading, writing, spelling and mathematics provision closes gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Attendance has improved over time and is in line with national averages.
• Pupils behave well, low-level disruption is rare, and the environment is calm and orderly.
• Bullying and harassment are rare and dealt with effectively when they occur.
• Inclusion systems for SEND and disadvantaged pupils are effective, with strong monitoring and partnership working.
• Leadership and governance know the school well, act swiftly, and provide appropriate challenge and support.
• Staff value leaders and feel their workload and wellbeing are considered.
• Careers education is highly effective and pupils feel well prepared for their next steps.
• Personal development, pastoral support, trips, clubs and pupil leadership opportunities are strong.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• Adaptations for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are not consistently precise across all lessons.
• Checks for understanding are not yet consistent in a small number of lessons, so some gaps in knowledge are not addressed.
• Pupils' knowledge of fundamental British values and protected characteristics is not as detailed in some parts of the personal development curriculum.
• Published 2024/25 outcomes were below national averages in English and maths grade 5, Attainment 8 and Progress 8.
• Disadvantaged pupils' 2024/25 outcomes and progress were below national averages, with a wide disadvantage gap.

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 Admiral Lord Nelson School attended 91.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.5% 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, 3.1% of pupils at Admiral Lord Nelson 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 Admiral Lord Nelson School had 16.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.5% 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, 15.7% of pupils at Admiral Lord Nelson School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.3% 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 Admiral Lord Nelson School received £8,230 and spent £8,140 for each of its 1,244 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £978,000 (£786 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of The Salterns Academy Trust, income was £7,971 and spending £7,849 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.

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All schools in Portsmouth · Portsmouth local authority: places and applications

Admiral Lord Nelson School is part of The Salterns Academy Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Mayfield School Portsmouth
• Trafalgar School Portsmouth

What is Admiral Lord Nelson School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Admiral Lord Nelson School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Admiral Lord Nelson School last inspected by Ofsted?

Admiral Lord Nelson School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Admiral Lord Nelson School have?

Admiral Lord Nelson School has 1,245 pupils on roll.

What age range does Admiral Lord Nelson School cover?

Admiral Lord Nelson School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Admiral Lord Nelson School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.5, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Admiral Lord Nelson School?

Admiral Lord Nelson School is at Dundas Lane, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO3 5XT.