The Portsmouth Academy Review 2026: A large, city secondary with a clear improvement agenda

A secondary school of this scale lives or dies on routines, consistency, and the daily craft of getting hundreds of students learning at the same time. Here, the basics are explicit: line-ups bookend the day, lessons run in clear hour blocks, and the stated values of Aspire, Achieve and Respect are positioned as the behavioural and academic spine of the school.

Leadership has been a recent talking point. Mr Daniel Botting joined as Executive Principal in January 2025, following an interim period, and the Trust has been open that this appointment is part of a wider next phase for the school.

Academically, the most recent GCSE performance indicators sit below England average overall, with Progress 8 at -1.1 and an Attainment 8 score of 34.8. That context matters because it shapes the type of learner who will thrive here: students who benefit from structure, frequent feedback, and explicit catch-up tend to do best in big schools that run on routines.

The day is engineered for momentum. Students begin with line-ups and end with a final line-up and tutor time or assembly, a rhythm that signals expectations in a school where consistency is non-negotiable.

Culture is also shaped by the school’s position within The Thinking Schools Academy Trust. Trust involvement is not hidden in the background, it is part of how the school presents itself and how improvement capacity is described publicly.

Pastoral identity has a very specific strand that sets the school apart locally: The Bridge Inclusion Centre, a purpose-built provision for students aged 11 to 16 with complex cognition and learning difficulties and an Education, Health and Care Plan. It opened with Year 7 in September 2022, which makes it a relatively new part of the school’s offer and one that has had time to establish basic systems rather than being purely aspirational.

The wider student experience reads as a school trying to keep its offer broad, even while tackling day-to-day operational challenges. Enrichment lists include academic support sessions, targeted intervention, creative arts rehearsals, and identity-based groups alongside sport. That mix matters because it signals that the school is not relying on one pillar, such as sport, to do all the work of engagement.

This section uses FindMySchool rankings and the performance metrics provided.

Ranked 3455th in England and 10th in Portsmouth for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the school sits below England average overall, placing it in the lower 40% of schools in England on this measure.

The underlying indicators reinforce that picture. Progress 8 is -1.1, which indicates that, on average, students make less progress than similar students nationally between the end of primary and GCSE. Attainment 8 is 34.8, which summarises achievement across a basket of GCSE subjects.

EBacc indicators also suggest that securing strong language and humanities outcomes is a key development area. Average EBacc APS is 3.1, and 6.8% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across EBacc subjects.

For families comparing schools locally, it is worth using the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool to benchmark these measures against other Portsmouth secondaries, especially if you are weighing proximity against outcomes.

Curriculum ambition is described as broad and balanced, with an explicit emphasis on literacy and subject vocabulary. Reading ages are assessed, and an accelerated reading programme is used to help students who fall behind, an example of a large-school approach where small gains compound when applied consistently across year groups.

EBacc positioning is also clear. Modern foreign languages and humanities are treated as core to the curriculum intent, rather than niche options, and arts provision is framed as a high-profile part of the offer, including music, drama, dance, art and photography. The implication for students is that options should feel less like early narrowing and more like a structured platform for post-16 choice, even though this is an 11 to 16 school.

Support for students with SEND is not just described in general terms. The Bridge is presented as a specialist route for those with complex cognition and learning needs and an EHCP, and this level of specificity usually correlates with clearer staffing, clearer identification, and more reliable classroom strategies, particularly when mainstream teachers are trained to adapt rather than refer out.

With no sixth form, planning for post-16 starts earlier than it does in schools where staying on is the default. The school points students towards multiple local routes including general further education colleges, sixth-form style provision, and a University Technical College option. The guidance explicitly encourages applying to more than one provider and starting applications in the autumn term of Year 11, which is a pragmatic approach for students who are still refining their direction.

The practical implication is that families should treat Year 10 as the set-up year. Attend open evenings, clarify entry requirements for chosen pathways, and keep GCSE option choices aligned to likely post-16 routes, particularly where vocational pathways require specific grades in English and mathematics.

Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated through Portsmouth City Council. For September 2026 entry, the Council states the application deadline was Friday 31 October 2025, with national offer day on Monday 2 March 2026. Up to six preferences are encouraged, reflecting pressure on places across the city.

The school’s published admission number is 250. Portsmouth City Council also states that the school does not use catchment areas as part of its admissions arrangements, so families should read the oversubscription criteria closely rather than assuming a boundary map will answer the question.

The school also reinforced the same 2026 entry deadline and offer-day timetable in its own admissions messaging, which helps reduce the risk of families relying on out-of-date generic dates.

Parents who are trying to understand how realistic admission is for their address should use the FindMySchool Map Search to compare their location with recent allocation patterns across Portsmouth, then sanity-check the result against the Council’s published criteria for the relevant year.

A large secondary needs more than goodwill, it needs systems that students experience as reliable. Safeguarding is treated as a priority area, and the school’s safeguarding processes include multi-agency working and attention to risks in the local community, with practical support offered via external partners for the most vulnerable pupils.

Behaviour is a key determinant of daily experience. The school has used clear behaviour policy work, staff training, and pastoral restructuring as mechanisms to reduce disruption and increase time on learning. This is especially relevant for families with students who are easily distracted, since a calm classroom is often the difference between steady progress and drift.

For students with additional needs, The Bridge provides a defined pathway for those with EHCPs and complex cognition and learning difficulties. In mainstream lessons, the quality of identification and early planning in Year 7 and Year 8 is particularly important, because those are the years when secondary routines are learned and learning gaps can either widen or close.

The enrichment programme is unusually concrete, with a published weekly grid that mixes academic, cultural, and sporting options. For academic reinforcement, there are subject-specific sessions such as Science Homework Club, Maths Homework Club, Humanities homework support, and GCSE booster sessions for Years 10 and 11. The evidence is simple: these run at lunchtimes or after school, by year group, with named rooms, which makes participation easier to normalise rather than leaving it to motivated students only. The implication is that students who need structured revision can get it built into the week, not just bolted on in the final term.

Creativity has visible routes. Dance Company production rehearsals, a Choir, and a Drama Club tied to a specific production indicate that performing arts participation is organised around real output, not just informal attendance. For students who gain confidence through performance, that can become a stabilising part of school life.

Clubs also reflect modern student identity and interests, including an LGBTQ+ Club, a Debate slot, and specialist interest groups such as PyClub (Python Coding Club), a STEM Club, War Hammer Club, Anime Club, Book Club, and Board Games Club. This breadth matters because it creates multiple entry points for belonging, particularly for students who are not defined by sport.

Sport remains present and structured, with netball, football (including girls’ football), badminton, dodgeball, basketball, and multi-sports clubs, typically using the sports hall and multi-use games area.

The school day is structured around five taught periods. Line-ups begin at 8:30am and Period 5 ends at 3:00pm, with tutor time or assembly before the final lesson.

As a state-funded school, there are no tuition fees. Families should still budget for the usual secondary costs such as uniform, trips, and optional activities where relevant.

• Academic outcomes are a clear improvement priority. Progress 8 of -1.1 and the wider GCSE indicators suggest many students will need consistent scaffolding and strong home-school routines to secure the best outcomes.

• Behaviour consistency is central to daily experience. An urgent Ofsted inspection on 18 October 2023 judged safeguarding effective, while identifying behaviour disruption and earlier identification of some SEND needs, especially in Years 7 and 8, as priorities for further improvement.

• No sixth form changes the Year 11 experience. Post-16 planning, open evenings, and applications become a major feature of the final two years, particularly for students who need a clear pathway mapped early.

• Admissions are not catchment-based. Portsmouth City Council states that the school does not use catchment areas, so families need to engage with the published criteria rather than relying on a boundary map.

This is a large Portsmouth secondary with a strong emphasis on structure, enrichment, and a clearly signposted improvement agenda. It will suit students who respond well to routines, benefit from scheduled academic support, and want access to a broad set of clubs, including coding, debate, performing arts, and sport. The key decision for families is whether the current outcomes profile and behaviour trajectory align with their child’s needs, particularly if they require consistently calm lessons to make progress.