Christchurch Infant School

About Christchurch Infant School

Christchurch Infant School stands out sharply against the local authority average for primary schools, but the comparison is not straightforward because this school only covers Years 1 and 2, meaning it does not sit Key Stage 2 SATs. The LA average for KS2 attainment sits at 63, a figure that simply does not apply here. What does stand out is the school's Ofsted record. It holds an Outstanding rating, a grade achieved by only five of the 66 primary schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Its most recent graded inspection, in 2014, awarded top marks for both leadership and management and overall effectiveness. The previous inspection in 2009 had rated it Good, so the trajectory is clearly upward. With 303 pupils on a capacity of 360, the school is not full to the brim, yet it is heavily oversubscribed: 152 families applied for 81 places in the 2025/26 intake, and only 59 first-preference offers were made.

Because Christchurch Infant School does not publish Key Stage 2 results, parents must look elsewhere for academic evidence. The Ofsted report from 2014 is now over a decade old, which is worth noting, though the Outstanding rating has not been reassessed since. The school's early years provision was not graded in that inspection, but the 2009 inspection rated it as Outstanding (grade 1). For a school that only takes children up to age seven, the focus is firmly on the early years and Key Stage 1 foundations. The school's leadership and management were judged Outstanding in 2014, and behaviour and attitudes were not separately graded then, but the overall effectiveness speaks to a strong environment. Without current SATs data or a more recent Ofsted visit, the main academic signal is the sustained Outstanding rating and the high demand from local families.

The school offers a solid set of facilities for its age range, including an art studio, library, music rooms, ICT suite, and outdoor playground with playing fields. Sports on offer include athletics, football, cross country, netball, and tennis, and there are clubs for chess, coding, and drama. For children with additional needs, the school provides support for speech, language and communication, visual impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. The oversubscription ratio of 1.88 tells you this is a popular choice locally, and with only 59 first-preference offers made, securing a place is competitive. The school does not have a nursery or sixth form, and it is not a boarding school. This is a straightforward infant school for families who want a strong start in a well-regarded setting, particularly those who value an Outstanding-rated environment and are comfortable with the lack of recent exam data.

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