Deer Park School

Deer Park School is performing well in its first inspection, achieving a good standard overall. The school fosters a positive culture characterized by inclusion, kindness, and strong community ties, which is evident in students' excellent behavior and relationships. The curriculum is ambitious, ensuring that pupils receive a high standard of education, while personal development initiatives are comprehensive and effective. The school's commitment to supporting disadvantaged pupils and students with additional needs is noteworthy, reflecting its strong dedication to pupil welfare and academic success. However, there are areas for enhancement, particularly in the consistency of curriculum implementation and the embedding of the reading strategy across subjects.

Strengths

• Strong culture of inclusion, kindness, and community.
• Outstanding behavior and positive relationships among pupils.
• Ambitious curriculum offering a broad range of subjects.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
• Robust personal development program fostering resilience and safety.
• Well-designed careers program with strong local employer links.
• High level of staff dedication and support for pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistency in curriculum implementation affecting pupils' understanding.
• Reading strategy not yet fully embedded across the curriculum.

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 Deer Park School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 14.4% 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, 5.7% of pupils at Deer Park 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 Deer Park School had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.3% 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, 12.3% of pupils at Deer Park School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 9.3% 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 Deer Park School received £8,133 and spent £7,666 for each of its 698 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £236,000 (£338 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Raise Education Trust, income was £8,048 and spending £7,814 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

Deer Park School is part of Raise Education Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Boorley Park Botley
• Wildern School Southampton

What is Deer Park School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Deer Park School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was Deer Park School last inspected by Ofsted?

Deer Park School was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does Deer Park School have?

Deer Park School has 910 pupils on roll.

What age range does Deer Park School cover?

Deer Park School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Deer Park School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.3, and 52% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Deer Park School?

Deer Park School is at Sika Avenue, Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire, SO30 2HT.