Crestwood Community School Review 2026: Split-campus community secondary in Eastleigh

On Shakespeare Road in Boyatt Wood, Crestwood runs as one school across two sites, with the Shakespeare and Cherbourg campuses operating together since 2016 and set about 1.7 miles apart. It is a practical detail that shapes daily life, because campus preference and travel routines matter here almost as much as the headline offer.

Crestwood Community School is a state secondary school for boys and girls aged 11 to 16 in Eastleigh, Hampshire, with a published capacity of 1500. The 2024 Ofsted inspection rated the school Good. For families, the big story is scale and structure: a large, non-selective community school that puts real thought into inclusion, while balancing the realities of a competitive local intake.

Crestwood first opened in 1982, and the school still talks about itself with that plainspoken confidence you often find in long-established community secondaries. Headteacher Krista Dawkins has led the school since 2006, and the language from leadership leans towards steady improvement, a broad curriculum, and an inclusive culture.

The split-campus model could feel like a compromise; here it is more of a working system. The school is clear that both sites offer the same opportunities for students in Year 7 to Year 11. Families will notice that some routines, spaces, and staff teams sit within each campus, while policies and expectations are meant to stay consistent across the whole school.

The values are set out directly: Trust, Inclusiveness, Resilience, and Aspiration. That matters because it signals the tone Crestwood wants in classrooms and corridors. The rules are framed around being ready, responsible, and respectful, which suits students who do best with clear boundaries rather than constant negotiation.

GCSE results

For GCSE outcomes, Crestwood ranks 3423rd in England and 5th in Eastleigh in the FindMySchool rankings (based on official data). That position sits below England average, placing it within the lower 40% of schools in England.

The underlying measures point to the same challenge. Attainment 8 is 34.6 and Progress 8 is -0.73. For families, that combination is worth reading as a prompt to ask good questions: how the school identifies gaps early, how consistently students complete and improve work, and what happens for pupils who need a calmer route through key concepts.

EBacc indicators are also part of the picture. The average EBacc APS score is 3.0, compared with an England average of 4.08, and 10.2% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in the EBacc. Parents comparing options locally can use the FindMySchool Comparison Tool in the local area hub to place these figures alongside nearby schools.

Crestwood is explicit about structure. Students are placed in sets for most subjects, with some areas taught in mixed ability groups. That approach can work well when it is paired with careful assessment and tight classroom routines, because students experience challenge without drifting into the quiet problem of being “fine” but not learning much.

The curriculum offer is broad, and it is more modern than some families expect from a community school. Alongside the core, the published subject mix includes areas such as Computer Science, Creative Media, Enterprise, Food Preparation and Nutrition, Sociology, and Health and Social Care, as well as languages including French and Spanish. That variety gives different types of learner a way in, particularly for students who stay motivated when learning connects to real products, performances, or projects.

There is also a clear reading and learning-support thread. In Years 7 to 9, the school uses Accelerated Reader, and the Learning Resource Centre supports homework through a Homework Club and before and after-school access. The digital offer includes the Sora app, which is designed to make reading more accessible, including dyslexia-friendly fonts and multiple languages.

Crestwood is an 11 to 16 school, so the handover at the end of Year 11 is a big moment. The careers programme is framed around preparing students for the next step, including technical education routes and apprenticeships information at transition points, not just a single “sixth form or nothing” narrative.

The school’s extracurricular detail gives a useful window into pathways. One example is sport: Crestwood describes strong links with Sparsholt Football Academy, with coaches running sessions in school and students moving on to that route post-16. For the right student, that is more than an after-school club. It is a bridge into a structured next stage.

For most families, the practical question is how the school supports decision-making and readiness in Year 10 and Year 11, so students leave with a plan that fits their strengths, grades, and confidence, rather than drifting into an option that sounded good on paper.

Routes and criteria

Admissions are coordinated through Hampshire Children’s Services rather than handled directly by the school for the main Year 7 intake. Crestwood describes a combined admission number of 290 students per year group across its two sites, and the published demand figures show 421 applications for 283 offers, which works out at about 1.49 applications per place. This is an oversubscribed school, so the limiting factor is not whether Crestwood will take your application, but whether a place is available on offer day.

Crestwood also points families to Hampshire’s catchment checker. If you are weighing Crestwood against nearby options, it is sensible to use the FindMySchool Map Search to understand your home-to-school distance and likely travel pattern alongside catchment guidance, before making assumptions about which schools are realistic.

Timeline and practicalities

The school invites prospective families to an Open Evening, typically held towards the end of September, and also offers tours during the working day. After places are allocated, Crestwood contacts parents to ask for a campus preference, Shakespeare or Cherbourg. If no preference is given, students are assigned to the campus closest to the home address used in the admissions application.

Transition is treated as a process, not a single day. Crestwood describes a mid-March coffee morning for Year 6 parents after allocation, screening assessments in the summer term that include reading, spelling, and a dyslexia screener, and an Induction Day in late June or early July for Year 6 students.

The pastoral model is shaped by the school’s size and split sites. Crestwood has pastoral teams on both campuses, and it frames support as both academic and personal, with an emphasis on students having someone to talk to when a problem feels too big for a single lesson or tutor session.

The messaging around bullying is direct. The school states that pupils feel confident reporting bullying and trust staff to deal with it. For parents, that matters less as a slogan and more as a question to explore: what reporting routes are used, how quickly patterns are picked up, and how families are kept informed without escalating every issue into a drama.

There is also clear signposting to local wellbeing services for students and families, which suits a large community school where needs range widely, and where some students benefit from support that sits alongside, not instead of, normal school routines.

Music & performance

Crestwood’s most distinctive co-curricular detail is music. The school highlights steel bands across year groups, including an elite steel band called Panatical that has played at Cadogan Hall and reached the finals of the National Music for Youth on numerous occasions. There is also a jazz band and a rock band, with vocal work described as developing strongly. For students who find their confidence through performance, that kind of offer can become a second timetable: rehearsals, teamwork, and a reason to stay engaged on days when lessons feel heavy.

Trips and enterprise activity add another strand. Crestwood describes participation in enterprise and activity challenges organised by Solent Education Business Partnership, alongside trips designed to broaden experience and, where relevant, practise language skills.

Sport

Sport is strong, and the school positions itself as a leading school for volleyball while also running the expected range of team sports. Crestwood notes success in competitions including the Hampshire Cup for football, and it describes students competing at county, regional, and national level, particularly in football and volleyball. The link to Sparsholt Football Academy underlines that this is not only recreational; for some students it points to a clear pathway beyond Year 11.

For quieter students, the Learning Resource Centre also hosts clubs that are a different kind of belonging: Chess Club, Film Club, Reading Club, and Crochet and Knitting Club.

The school day

Crestwood starts with registration and assemblies at 08:30, with Period 1 beginning at 08:55. Lessons run through to Period 5 ending at 15:00, followed by extra-curricular activities and Year 11 intervention from 15:00 to 16:00.

Transport & two campuses

Crestwood operates across its Shakespeare and Cherbourg campuses, and the school asks families for a campus preference after places are allocated, defaulting to the closest campus when no preference is made. For eligible families, local authority transport applications are handled through Hampshire’s process for new starters.

Oversubscription: Demand is real, with 421 applications for 283 offers (about 1.49 applications per place). Families should treat admission as the hurdle here, and do the practical distance and catchment checks early.

Split-campus logistics: A two-site school can be a good fit, but it adds a layer of planning. Campus allocation, sibling routines, and travel time are part of the decision, not an afterthought.

Academic outcomes: The published GCSE indicators are below England average (Attainment 8 at 34.6 and Progress 8 at -0.73). For some students, that will make the quality of day-to-day teaching routines and intervention especially important.

Specialist resourced places: Crestwood has a dedicated dyslexia resourced base on the Shakespeare Campus and a resourced route for students with EHCPs for social, emotional and mental health needs across both campuses. These are not general admissions routes, and places can be limited (the SEMH route is described as having only two or three places available each academic year).

Crestwood Community School is a large, non-selective 11 to 16 community school that tries to combine breadth with inclusion, and it has a genuinely distinctive edge in music through its steel bands. It will suit families who want a big-school offer, clear values, and structured support for a wide range of learners, including those who benefit from specialist help.

Competition for places is the limiting factor, and the split-campus setup means logistics deserve careful thought. Get those right, and Crestwood can be a sensible, grounded choice for Eastleigh families.