New Milton Infant School

About New Milton Infant School

New Milton Infant School is a state primary for children aged four to seven, currently operating well below its capacity of 270 with 190 pupils on roll. This leaves significant room for growth, yet the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 78 applications for just 50 places, with all 50 first-preference families offered a spot. The oversubscription ratio of 1.56 confirms that more families want in than there are spaces, though the school is not yet at full capacity overall. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 22.4%, which is notably higher than the national average for primary schools and suggests the school serves a community with above-average levels of economic disadvantage. The school is non-religious and mixed, drawing from the New Forest area in Hampshire.

Academically, the school holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, with all key areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — all judged Good. This represents a change from its previous inspection in 2010, when it was rated Outstanding overall, though that earlier inspection used a different framework and did not assess all the same categories. The school does not publish Key Stage 2 results because its pupils leave at age seven, so direct comparison with the Hampshire local authority average of 61% achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at KS2 is not possible. However, the school’s Good rating places it among the majority of Hampshire primaries; only 33 of the 425 primary schools in the local authority are rated Outstanding.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including a library, playing fields, an outdoor playground, art studios, and a Forest School, plus a chapel on site. Sports provision covers gymnastics, athletics, rounders, swimming, cricket, tennis and football, while clubs include gardening, book club and drama. For children with additional needs, the school has a resourced provision and supports pupils with moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and hearing impairment. With its strong demand for places and above-average FSM rate, this is a school that appeals to local families who value a Good-rated infant school with a wide range of activities and dedicated SEND support, particularly those living within the New Forest catchment who want their child to start school in a non-faith environment.

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