King’s Academy Brune Park Review 2026: Large Gosport secondary focused on a rapid improvement journey

A big 11–16 academy on Military Road, serving Gosport families at scale, with a published capacity of 1,755 and 1,277 pupils currently on roll. The recent story here is structural change and reset: the school became King’s Academy Brune Park in May 2024 as part of King’s Group Academies.

Headline performance indicators in the FindMySchool rankings for GCSE outcomes are challenging. Ranked 3,699th in England and 2nd in Gosport for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), this sits below England average, in the bottom 40% of schools in England. The academic picture is also reflected in an Attainment 8 score of 32.2 and a Progress 8 score of -0.92, signalling that, on average, students make less progress than similar pupils nationally.

Entry is competitive for an all-ability academy. The available admissions data shows 319 applications for 198 offers in the most recent recorded entry-route dataset, indicating oversubscription, which matters for families hoping that proximity alone will secure a place.

This is a school explicitly trying to rebuild trust through clarity and consistency. The website language is direct about belonging and inclusion, putting pupil safety and identity up front, rather than presenting a narrow academic narrative. For parents, that tone matters, because it signals priorities: culture and routines first; results follow when attendance, behaviour and classroom focus stabilise.

Leadership visibility is also a defining feature. Headteacher Kerry Payne is presented publicly as the named head, with the Kings Academies group site stating she has been permanently in post since January 2023. That gives the school a meaningful leadership runway, long enough to implement behaviour systems, curriculum sequencing, staff training, and attendance strategies, then evidence impact across cohorts.

The size of the roll cuts both ways. For many students, a large year group provides social breadth and a wider choice of options, interventions and clubs. For some, it can feel impersonal unless pastoral systems are tight. The school’s approach to this, as presented, leans on structured tutor time, visible student leadership, and daily clubs and societies designed to bring smaller groups together routinely.

FindMySchool’s GCSE outcome ranking places King’s Academy Brune Park at 3,699th in England and 2nd in Gosport. This places performance below England average, within the bottom 40% of schools in England.

The underlying GCSE metrics are consistent with that picture. An Attainment 8 score of 32.2 indicates an overall points total per pupil that is materially behind stronger secondaries. Progress 8 is -0.92, which means that, on average, students at this school make less progress between the end of primary and GCSE than students with similar starting points across England.

For parents, the practical implication is straightforward. Families should ask two questions during research visits or conversations: how does the school ensure students attend well and remain in lessons consistently, and what does intervention look like for literacy and numeracy from Year 7 onwards. Those two levers are usually the quickest route to improving outcomes at scale.

Curriculum information suggests a deliberate emphasis on routine practice and confidence building, particularly in core subjects. In mathematics, the department describes daily maths lessons for all year groups to provide regular input and practice, with a strong focus on making concepts understandable and building resilience when students struggle.

At Key Stage 3, there are also signals of breadth and modernisation. A transition presentation references Film Studies as new to Key Stage 3, which is an unusual enrichment move for a large mainstream secondary and can be a useful engagement tool for students who connect strongly with visual storytelling.

The school’s wider narrative frames teaching as inclusive and ambitious, but it is still important for families to probe implementation: how the school groups students, how homework is set and checked, what reading interventions are used, and how behaviour expectations are supported consistently by staff.

This is an 11–16 school, so progression is about post-16 routes rather than A-level pipelines or university outcomes. In this context, the most useful indicators for parents are careers education, access to impartial guidance, and how effectively the school supports students into sixth forms, colleges, and apprenticeships in the local area.

There is evidence of employability-oriented curriculum thinking. The Business, Enterprise and Economics curriculum page highlights enterprise projects such as a Dragons’ Den style challenge at Key Stage 3, then vocational pathways at Key Stage 4. For students who are motivated by practical application, this kind of work can improve engagement and confidence, which is often a prerequisite for better GCSE outcomes.

Because detailed destination percentages are not available in the provided dataset for this school, parents should ask the school directly for leaver destination patterns, broken down by route (sixth form, FE college, apprenticeships).

Year 7 entry is coordinated via Hampshire, rather than handled as a fully independent application route. The school’s admissions page publishes a Year 7 appeal timetable that includes a closing date for applications of 31 October 2025, with notification for on-time applicants on 02 March 2026, then an appeal deadline of Friday 27 March 2026 and appeal hearings in May 2026.

The published Admissions Policy for 2026–27 confirms a Published Admission Number of 300 for King’s Academy Brune Park and sets out oversubscription criteria, including priority for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, followed by other categories such as looked-after children and children of staff.

The available demand data indicates the school is oversubscribed in the recorded entry-route dataset, with 319 applications for 198 offers. The practical implication is that families should treat catchment and distance as important, but not as a guarantee. A catchment address can strengthen a case, but the pattern of applications varies year by year.

Families comparing options should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check location against the school’s published catchment information and to sense-check travel time, especially if a second-choice school would require a longer commute.

Pastoral strength is not claimed through vague language, it is operationalised through routines and systems. The school publishes formal attendance expectations and explains how registers operate across the day, which tends to correlate with schools that take punctuality and lesson attendance seriously.

The school’s inclusion messaging is also unambiguous. It highlights equality, diversity and respect, and the right of every student to feel safe and authentically themselves. This is particularly relevant given the context of prior inspection history at the predecessor school (see Things to Consider), where peer culture, attendance and behaviour were central themes.

In a school of this size, parents should ask for specifics: how year teams are structured, what sanctions and supports are used for repeated disruption, how bullying is reported and resolved, and what happens for students who miss learning through absence.

This is an area where the school provides unusually concrete detail, which helps parents judge fit. The library runs named clubs, including Book Club, Anime and Manga, and Creative Writing, with published after-school times. These are not generic add-ons, they tend to attract students who may not identify with sport-led provision and can be powerful for literacy confidence and belonging.

Clubs and societies are framed as a daily opportunity for students to build relationships and access cultural experiences beyond lessons, rather than a once-a-week enrichment bolt-on. For students who have struggled with peer relationships or confidence, daily structured groups can make the school feel smaller and more manageable.

There are also wider community links on site. A case study referencing the Gosport Community Hub places community support activity for military personnel, veterans and their families at the King’s Academy Brune Park site. That kind of partnership can bring additional adult presence, events, and support structures into the orbit of the school.

The published school day runs from 08:40 to 15:15, with a detailed timetable of lesson periods and breaks. Food service is managed via a cashless catering approach, and the timetable references a service point used at break.

For transport planning, families should map the school against their home-to-school route and consider bus reliability and peak-time traffic on Military Road. For many Gosport households, the commute will be manageable, but late arrivals become a real issue when a day is built around tight transitions between periods.

• Inspection history and confidence rebuilding. The most recent published Ofsted inspection for the predecessor school on this site (June 2023) judged it Inadequate. The current academy (URN 150871) has no published Ofsted report yet, so parents are relying on the school’s current systems and visible trajectory rather than a new formal judgement.

• Academic outcomes are currently a challenge. The FindMySchool GCSE ranking and the Progress 8 score indicate that, for many students, progress to GCSE is below England averages. Families should ask what has changed since 2023, then test that answer against specifics, such as attendance work, behaviour systems, curriculum sequencing, and staffing stability.

• A large school needs strong routines. With 1,277 pupils on roll, the day-to-day experience depends heavily on consistency in corridors, transitions and classrooms. If your child struggles with busy environments, ask how year groups are managed at break and lunch, and what the school does to support students who find social times difficult.

King’s Academy Brune Park is best understood as a large community secondary in the middle of a deliberate reset, with clear messaging about inclusion and safety, and a strong emphasis on routines, attendance and daily enrichment. The academic indicators in the FindMySchool dataset are currently weak, so the key question for families is not whether the school has ambition, but whether the implementation is now consistent enough to change outcomes cohort by cohort.

Who it suits: local families who want a mainstream 11–16 school with a structured day, broad peer group, and accessible enrichment, and who are willing to assess the school based on current leadership actions, classroom consistency and measurable improvement over time.