Medina Primary School

About Medina Primary School

Medina Primary School is a state primary in Portsmouth, a local authority where no primary school currently holds an Outstanding Ofsted rating. Among the 45 primary schools in the area, Medina ranks 23rd, placing it in the middle of the pack. Its closest high-performing peers include Ark Ayrton Primary Academy, Langstone Primary Academy, and Penbridge Junior School, all of which sit above it in the local rankings. The school is led by headteacher A McGarvey and serves 202 pupils, close to its capacity of 210. It is a mixed, non-religious school for children aged 4 to 11. Medina is notably oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 68 applications for 30 places, with 45 of those as first preferences, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.27. This level of demand suggests strong local reputation, even if its ranking doesn't place it among the top tier.

Academically, Medina's most recent Key Stage 2 results from the 2023/24 year show 47% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined. This is below the Portsmouth local authority average of 53%. The school's average scores were 102 in maths and 103 in reading, both slightly above the national benchmark of 100, but the proportion reaching the higher standard was low: 7% in maths and 13% in reading, with none in writing. Medina ranks 22nd out of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth on this combined measure, placing it in the bottom 50% nationally. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2025 rated the school Good overall, with an Outstanding grade for personal development. The previous inspection in 2019 also rated it Good, with early years provision and leadership both graded as Good at that time.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a library, forest school, playing fields, gymnasium, and a chapel. Sports provision covers tennis, netball, rounders, and cross country, while clubs include coding, book club, art club, eco club, gardening, and choir. Medina supports a wide range of SEND needs, from dyslexia and moderate learning difficulties to speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, and physical disabilities. Parent View responses from 14 families between September 2024 and September 2025 show 79% would recommend the school. Parents were particularly positive about the range of subjects and clubs, with 100% agreeing their child can take part in clubs and activities. However, concerns were raised about how concerns are dealt with: 29% disagreed that concerns are handled properly, and 14% disagreed that bullying is dealt with quickly. This school will suit families who value a strong personal development focus and a broad extracurricular offer, but who are comfortable with academic results that sit below the local average.

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