Portswood Primary School

About Portswood Primary School

Portswood Primary School’s headline Key Stage 2 results put it well ahead of the Southampton local authority average, which sits at 55% for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. Portswood’s figure is 78%, a substantial 23 percentage points higher. That performance places the school 4th out of 42 primary schools in the LA, comfortably inside the top 10% nationally. The school is oversubscribed by a wide margin — 164 applications for 58 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, with 71 first-preference applications — which makes sense given these strong outcomes. It’s worth noting that Portswood’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 rated it Good overall, with Outstanding marks for personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management. The previous inspection in 2007 had rated it Outstanding across the board, so the current Good rating still reflects a school performing at a very high level.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 SATs data, Portswood’s pupils achieved an average maths score of 110 and an average reading score of 108, both above the national benchmark of 100. In maths, 92% of pupils met the expected standard and 50% reached the higher standard. Reading saw 82% at expected and 40% at higher, while writing had 83% at expected and 15% at higher. The combined higher standard in reading, writing and maths was 15%. These figures show a school where the majority of children are not just meeting but exceeding expectations, particularly in maths. The school’s ranking score of 78, based on the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in all three subjects, confirms its position as a strong performer in the region — 264th out of 2,034 primary schools in the South East.

Portswood is a larger-than-average primary with 433 pupils against a capacity of 420, and 30.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average. The school has a broad range of facilities including a sports hall, gymnasium, library, music rooms, forest school area, and a chapel. Sports on offer include football, cricket, swimming, gymnastics, dance, athletics and tennis, and there are clubs covering science, coding, gardening, eco issues, film and chess. The SEND provision is comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With nursery provision available and no official sixth form, this is a school that serves families from age 4 through to the end of primary. Given its strong academic results and high demand, it’s a particularly good fit for families who prioritise solid core subject outcomes and want a school with a wide extracurricular offer and strong pastoral ratings.

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