Fernhurst Primary School

Fernhurst Primary School has improved since its previous inspection and is now performing well across most areas. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, pupils achieve well overall, behaviour is strong, and leaders have taken effective action to improve attendance. Reading is a particular strength, with well-supported phonics and a strong culture of reading. Personal development is exceptionally well provided for, with pupils benefiting from an unusually wide range of enrichment experiences, including woodland and beach learning, cultural visits and performances. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Broad and ambitious curriculum across subjects
• Strong early reading and phonics support
• Exceptional personal development with wide enrichment experiences
• Pupils behave very well in calm classrooms
• Effective action to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence
• Highly committed leadership with effective trust and governance support
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Strong early years support for speech, language and reading
• Supportive lunchtime provision and pupil well-being initiatives
• Teachers check learning effectively in most subjects

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not get enough practice in foundational writing, including letter formation and handwriting
• Curriculum is not consistently adapted to some pupils' starting points, leaving them reliant on adult support
• Checks on pupils' knowledge and memory are sometimes not effective, so gaps are not addressed
• Some learning activities do not focus sufficiently on addressing gaps in knowledge
• A small number of pupils do not achieve as well as they might in writing and English

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 Fernhurst Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

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, 2.9% of pupils at Fernhurst Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 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 Fernhurst Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 53.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

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, 14.0% of pupils at Fernhurst Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

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 primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Fernhurst Primary School received £8,660 and spent £9,234 for each of its 103 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £42,000 (£409 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of University of Chichester (Multi) Academy Trust, income was £7,095 and spending £7,150 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 Haslemere · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

Fernhurst Primary School is part of University of Chichester (Multi) Academy Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Woodlea Primary School Bordon
• Oakmoor School Bordon
• Weyford Nursery and Primary Academy Bordon
• Bordon Junior School Bordon
• Bordon Infant School Bordon
• Kingsham Primary School Chichester
• Berewood Primary School Waterlooville
• Newlands Primary Academy Waterlooville
• Court Lane Infant Academy Portsmouth
• Court Lane Junior Academy Portsmouth

What is Fernhurst Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fernhurst Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Fernhurst Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Fernhurst Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Fernhurst Primary School have?

Fernhurst Primary School has 121 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fernhurst Primary School cover?

Fernhurst Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is Fernhurst Primary School?

Fernhurst Primary School is at Haslemere Road, Fernhurst, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27 3EA.