Liphook Infant School

About Liphook Infant School

Liphook Infant School stands out sharply against the Hampshire primary average, but not in the way you might expect from its headline metrics. While the local authority average for Key Stage 2 attainment sits at 61, this school doesn't even have KS2 results to compare — it only covers Reception to Year 2 (ages 4 to 7), so children leave before the SATs. What does stand out is its Ofsted rating: the school is one of just 33 outstanding primaries out of 425 in Hampshire, a clear signal of quality. Its most recent graded inspection in June 2022 awarded top marks across every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership, and early years provision all rated outstanding. That's a remarkable turnaround from its previous inspection in December 2021, when the school was rated inadequate overall. The improvement is dramatic and recent, suggesting strong leadership under headteacher Jacqueline Taylor.

Because Liphook Infant School is an infant-only school, there are no Progress 8 or KS2 SATs scores to analyse. Instead, the Ofsted breakdown tells the story. In the 2022 inspection, every single category scored 1 (outstanding), including early years provision, which is particularly relevant for a school taking children from age four. The previous inspection had rated leadership and management at 4 (inadequate) and overall effectiveness at 4, so the jump to all 1s in under six months is striking. The school is also heavily oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 136 applications for 89 places, with 99 first-preference applications and only 86 first-preference offers. That oversubscription ratio of 1.53 tells you local families are voting with their feet, despite the school's recent history of a poor inspection.

The school sits on a site that includes a chapel, dining hall, library, gymnasium, sports hall, and playing fields — generous facilities for an infant school. It offers tennis, athletics, dance, and football, plus clubs in drama, chess, and science. SEND provision covers specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and physical disabilities. With 14.2 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the intake is slightly above the national average for disadvantage. The school is physically adjacent to Liphook Church of England Controlled Junior School (the nearest outstanding primary), so many children will naturally feed into it after Year 2. This is a school that suits families who want a strong early-years foundation in a setting that has demonstrably turned itself around under current leadership, and who are comfortable with a two-stage primary journey.

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