Portchester Community School

About Portchester Community School

Portchester Community School is a mixed secondary for 11 to 16 year olds in Fareham, and its intake tells a clear story about the community it serves. With 692 pupils on roll against a capacity of 860, the school is operating well below its maximum, leaving room for growth. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 27.9%, which is significantly higher than the national average of around 23% and suggests the school serves a relatively disadvantaged catchment. Demand is strong despite the spare capacity: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 194 applications for 106 places, an oversubscription ratio of 1.83. Of those, 102 were first-preference applications, and all 102 received offers, meaning every family who put Portchester first got a place. This combination of high FSM and strong first-preference demand points to a school that is both inclusive and locally trusted.

Academically, Portchester’s Progress 8 score of -0.28 is below the Hampshire local authority average of -0.17, placing it 39th out of 80 schools in the county. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 43.3, and 58.5% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths, though this drops to 36.3% at the stronger grade 5 threshold. The EBacc entry rate is low at 14.1%, and just 7.4% of pupils achieved the full EBacc at grade 4 or above. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024, the school retained its overall Good rating, with personal development judged Outstanding. Behaviour and attitudes, leadership, and quality of education were all rated Good. The previous inspection in 2018 also rated the school Good overall, so the rating has been consistent across both inspections.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a swimming pool, astro turf, science labs, and a sixth form centre, though it does not have a sixth form of its own. SEND provision is comprehensive, covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, SEMH, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder, plus a resourced provision. Clubs include the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Model UN, and Young Enterprise, and sports range from rowing and martial arts to rugby and gymnastics. For families in Fareham, Portchester is a good fit if you want a genuinely inclusive secondary with strong pastoral care and a personal development focus rated Outstanding, but you should be aware that academic outcomes are below the local average and the school is not oversubscribed to the point of being hard to get into.

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