Upper Shirley High School Review 2026: A values-led 11–16 academy with improving consistency

Standards and routines are the headline story here. Upper Shirley High School sits in Upper Shirley, Southampton, and serves students from Year 7 to Year 11, with no sixth form. It is part of Hamwic Education Trust, so governance and school improvement capacity extends beyond the site itself.

The most recent formal check on quality came in January 2025, which concluded the school had taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. That sits alongside a longer track record of a Good overall effectiveness judgement (most recently at the full inspection in October 2019).

For outcomes, the picture is best read as steady, mid-pack performance by England standards with some clear positives. FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking places Upper Shirley High School 1,521st in England and 8th in Southampton for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), which aligns with performance in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

This is a school that talks in plain language about standards, expectations, and belonging. Its stated values are consistently referenced in official reporting, and they are not treated as a decorative slogan. The January 2025 inspection report describes a “reset” in standards and expectations across the last two years, framed around improved learning habits and stronger routines.

Behaviour, in particular, comes through as a key focus. The October 2019 inspection described a calm, productive atmosphere in lessons and around the school, with learning rarely disrupted by misbehaviour. The later narrative in 2025 leans into the same theme, describing a school that expects good conduct and gets it from most students, while also working hard to correct and support the smaller number who need extra help meeting expectations.

Parents considering the school should also note that Upper Shirley High School is not a small setting. Ofsted’s listing records a capacity of 990, with a current roll above that figure, which usually affects day-to-day logistics, corridors between lessons, and year-group scale. A larger roll can be a strength socially, because peer groups are broad, friendships can reset if needed, and there is usually enough demand to run a wider range of subjects. It can also mean pastoral systems must be well organised, because students who need additional attention can otherwise slip to the edges.

Leadership is currently stable and clearly identified. Christopher Sykes is the headteacher, and the school reports that the current headteacher has been in post since September 2022. For parents, the practical implication is that “the current version” of Upper Shirley High, including its routines and curriculum tightening, should be understood as a post-2022 phase rather than something unchanged for a decade.

Upper Shirley High School’s GCSE outcomes sit in a broadly typical band for England in FindMySchool’s rankings, which is often what families see locally in solid, improving academies: not defined by a single headline statistic, but by whether learning is consistently good across subjects and whether attendance and behaviour support progress.

Rankings (FindMySchool, based on official data)

Ranked 1,521st in England and 8th in Southampton for GCSE outcomes. This reflects solid performance, in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

Attainment and progress

The school’s Attainment 8 score is 49.2. Progress 8 is 0.09, which indicates students make slightly above-average progress from their starting points across eight qualifications. These measures matter because they reflect not just raw grades, but how effectively teaching converts prior attainment into outcomes at the end of Year 11.

EBacc and academic breadth

The EBacc average point score is 4.29. EBacc entry is a live issue in the school’s narrative: the January 2025 inspection report notes that more pupils are taking modern foreign languages and more challenging qualifications in science, and that EBacc entry is increasing, even if it is not yet at the government’s ambition level. Practically, this suggests a curriculum that is pushing towards academic breadth, with languages and humanities positioned as a more normal route than in schools where EBacc is treated as a niche option.

A final, important clarification for families: this school finishes at 16. GCSE outcomes therefore matter doubly, because they are also the passport to sixth form, college, apprenticeships, and technical routes.

The strongest evidence here points to a curriculum that is increasingly structured and deliberately sequenced. In January 2025, the inspection report describes an ambitious curriculum that sets out clearly what and how pupils will learn. That matters because clarity of curriculum is often the difference between “pockets of great teaching” and consistent learning across departments.

There are also specific hints about how learning is delivered. Teachers are described as subject experts who present information well and give accurate feedback in the moment to address misconceptions. This is not a small detail. When feedback is embedded in lessons rather than delivered only through marking, students who are prone to falling behind can be corrected quickly, and confident students can be stretched without waiting for the next assessment point.

The school’s improvement work has a recognisable pattern: define what high-quality work looks like, then teach students how to produce it. The report refers to step-by-step guidance intended to help pupils produce high-quality work, while also noting that these strategies were not yet implemented consistently at the time. For parents, this is a useful “watch item” in conversations with staff. Ask what “high-quality work” looks like in Year 7 and Year 9, and how departments align expectations across classes.

Reading also appears as an explicit priority. In 2019, inspectors noted the school’s expectation that pupils read every day, and the 2025 report suggests reading outcomes are improving for many, even if not all. For students, that can translate into better access to the full curriculum, especially in subjects where exam success depends on extended writing and technical vocabulary.

Where Students Go Next

With no sixth form, Upper Shirley High School’s “destination story” is mostly about preparation and guidance rather than internal progression routes.

The school has a dedicated support structure described as a guidance centre, which the 2019 inspection report presents as a place where pupils access expert advice and support. That matters at two points: early secondary, when students may need help adjusting socially or emotionally, and Year 10 to Year 11, when decisions about post-16 options start to become practical rather than theoretical.

Students in Year 11 typically move on to sixth form colleges, school sixth forms, and technical routes across Southampton and the surrounding area. The school does not publish a quantified destination breakdown in the evidence reviewed here, so parents should treat any specific claims circulating locally as anecdotal and focus instead on the support systems: careers education, employer encounters, college liaison, and the consistency of GCSE preparation.

Two additional features are worth noting because they indicate how the school supports students who need a different route for part of their learning. The 2019 report states that a small number of pupils complete some learning at The Compass School and The Military Mentors Training Academy. Earlier, a 2013 Ofsted survey visit letter focused on alternative provision describes the school’s approach as effective in re-engaging a small proportion of selected students, and names providers such as Fairbridge Trust (Southampton) and Learn and Grow (Solent Education Business Partnership).

The implication is not that alternative provision is central to the school’s identity, but that leaders have a track record of using structured external pathways for the small number of students who need them, rather than allowing attendance and engagement to collapse.

Upper Shirley High School is a state-funded school, so there are no tuition fees. Admission is coordinated through Southampton City Council for families whose home local authority is Southampton, including for academies.

Key entry point

Year 7 (age 11).

When to apply for September 2026 entry

Southampton City Council states that applications for September 2026 open on Monday 01 September 2025 and the Year 7 application deadline is 31 October 2025 at 11.59pm.

Offer day

Nationally, secondary offers are issued on 1 March, or the next working day if that date falls on a weekend or bank holiday. In 2026, 1 March falls on a Sunday, so families should expect offers on Monday 02 March 2026.

Oversubscription and who gets priority

Historic admissions documentation provides useful context on how the school has handled demand. A Schools Adjudicator determination for the school describes it as a comprehensive 11–16 school and confirms that it became an academy on 01 August 2011. It also records a published admission number of 150 at that time.

That same document shows the school using a structured priority model that includes catchment-area priority and links to named feeder schools (Hollybrook Junior School, Shirley Junior School, and Wordsworth Primary School are listed in the relevant oversubscription criteria). Policies can change year to year, so parents should still read the current admissions policy before applying, but the implication is clear: proximity and defined local links matter, and securing a place will typically be easier for families whose address and schooling history align with the criteria.

A practical tip

if you are shortlisting several Southampton secondaries, use FindMySchool’s Map Search to understand how your address sits relative to each school’s admissions priorities, then check those priorities against the published policy for the relevant year.

Pastoral care appears as a core operational strength, particularly around safety, behaviour, and the availability of trusted adults. The October 2019 inspection describes pupils feeling safe, bullying being rare, and students being confident staff will resolve issues. The same report highlights the guidance centre as a key support mechanism, suggesting pastoral support is not left only to form tutors but has a more specialist layer.

Safeguarding is also clearly evidenced. The January 2025 inspection report states that safeguarding arrangements are effective. For parents, this is not just reassurance. It usually correlates with staff training discipline, clear reporting routes, good record-keeping, and leaders who treat safeguarding as part of daily culture rather than a compliance file.

Attendance is another indicator worth tracking, because it often reflects whether students feel settled and whether expectations are working. The January 2025 report states attendance is regular and above national averages, with improvement work particularly focused on disadvantaged pupils who attended less well in the past. If you are visiting or speaking with the school, ask how attendance is monitored, what early intervention looks like, and how parents are included in the plan when patterns start to slip.

Extracurricular life here reads as purposeful rather than ornamental, with a particular emphasis on sport and leadership.

From the 2019 inspection, there is clear evidence that a meaningful proportion of students take part in clubs and wider opportunities, with participation described as around half of pupils, and activity clustered around highly successful sport. The implication is that sport is likely one of the school’s strongest “belonging mechanisms”, especially for students who learn best when school identity is reinforced by teams, fixtures, and routine training.

Leadership opportunities are also part of the school’s model. The January 2025 inspection report refers to a programme for pupil leadership, and links participation to increased confidence and wider life skills. That matters for students who are not naturally drawn to sport or performance but still want responsibility. In practical terms, pupil leadership often becomes the bridge between “I attend school” and “I contribute to school”.

The school also has evidence of structured support beyond a conventional club model. As noted earlier, there are named alternative provision routes and support groups described in Ofsted documentation, including a parent and student support group mentioned in the 2013 survey letter, and provider relationships with organisations such as Fairbridge Trust (Southampton) and Learn and Grow through the Solent Education Business Partnership. For families, the key point is that the school has an established toolkit for re-engagement, and not all support is delivered only through mainstream classroom methods.

Because the school’s own website content could not be reliably accessed during research, specific club names beyond these programmes are not included here. Parents who prioritise a particular activity should ask for the current clubs list, how often each runs, and whether clubs are termly or year-round.

Upper Shirley High School is an 11–16 secondary academy serving Upper Shirley, Southampton. It is part of a larger trust, and operates at a scale that suggests busy year groups and structured routines.

Published timings for the start and end of the school day, and any after-school supervision arrangements, were not available in the sources that could be accessed reliably. Parents should confirm daily timings directly with the school, especially if transport or childcare planning depends on precise finish times.

For travel, families should plan routes in advance, including walking time and bus reliability at typical school start and finish periods. For students who will travel independently, it is worth asking how the school supports Year 7 transition around travel safety and punctuality expectations.

• No sixth form. Students will need a clear post-16 plan. Families should discuss how Year 11 guidance works, and which local routes are most common for current cohorts.

• Consistency of new teaching strategies. The January 2025 inspection report highlights strong strategies for producing high-quality work, while also noting inconsistent implementation at that time. Ask what has changed since January 2025, and how leaders check consistency across classes.

• Curriculum breadth expectations. EBacc entry is increasing, with languages and more challenging qualifications in science described as a focus, even though the school is not yet at the government’s ambition for EBacc entry. This will suit many students, but families should confirm how options are guided for students who prefer more applied pathways.

• Admissions are criteria-driven. Historic documentation shows catchment and feeder links playing a role in priority. If you are outside the likely priority groups, it is important to set expectations realistically and name multiple preferences.

Upper Shirley High School is a straightforward option for families who want a state-funded 11–16 school that prioritises routines, behaviour, and an increasingly structured approach to learning. Its FindMySchool GCSE ranking places it in a typical England performance band rather than an elite bracket, but the direction of travel, particularly post-2022, is towards stronger consistency and clearer expectations.

Best suited to students who do well with firm routines, clear conduct standards, and a school culture where sport and leadership are visible routes to belonging. Families should weigh the absence of a sixth form and take admissions criteria seriously when shortlisting.