Ad Astra Infant School

About Ad Astra Infant School

Ad Astra Infant School sits within the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole local authority, a large area with 66 primary schools. Among these, the school is not ranked in the top tier occupied by St. Walburga's Catholic Primary School, Winton Primary School, and Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, which hold the three highest ranking scores locally. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Canford Heath Infant School, just 1.3 kilometres away. Ad Astra itself was rated Good in its most recent graded inspection in 2018, and an ungraded inspection in December 2023 confirmed it remains Good with an improving trajectory. The school is a state-funded, mixed-gender infant school for children aged 4 to 7, with no nursery provision. It has a capacity of 270 pupils and currently hosts 253, so it is close to full. Oversubscription is significant: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 165 applications for 86 places, with 86 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.92.

Academic outcomes at Ad Astra Infant School are not captured by Key Stage 2 SATs, as the school only covers Reception through Year 2, and pupils move on before the standard KS2 assessments. The local authority average for KS2 attainment is 63, but this figure does not apply directly to an infant school. The most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2018 rated overall effectiveness, leadership and management, and early years provision all as Good. The 2023 ungraded inspection noted that the school remains Good and is improving. The Ofsted report highlighted strong early years provision, which is a key indicator for this age group. With 20.6% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage compared to the national primary average. The school's leadership under headteacher Clare Tantrum has maintained consistent quality across inspections, with no decline in rating since the 2014 inspection, which also rated overall effectiveness as Good.

For families considering Ad Astra Infant School, the facilities are notably broad for an infant school, including a sports hall, gymnasium, art studios, music rooms, a sensory room, and a forest school area. There is also a chapel on site, despite the school having no religious character. Sports offered include tennis, football, netball, dance, and swimming, and clubs range from coding and chess to gardening and eco club. The school has strong SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, and social, emotional and mental health support. This makes it a practical choice for families whose children may need additional support in early years. Given the high oversubscription, parents should be prepared to apply as a first preference to secure a place. The school suits families who value a broad range of enrichment activities within a Good-rated setting, and who are comfortable with their child moving to a new school at age 7.

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