# Schools in Portsmouth

45 schools with published admissions figures

"1st preferences per place" is how many families named a school first, for each place it offered, in the newest year held. It describes demand. It is not a pass rate and it does not say whether a child would be offered a place. A dash means the figure is not held.

## How the 2026 round went

Counts families, not schools. The table below cannot be added up into these figures, because a child naming three schools appears in three of its rows.

### Primary

For September 2026, 93.0% of families applying for a primary place here were offered their first choice, and 98.6% were offered one of the three schools they named.

That is 7.7 points higher than in 2016, when it was 85.3%.

The council's primary schools between them had 2,230 places for 1,887 applications. That is a total for the whole council and says nothing about any one school in it.


### Secondary

For September 2026, 83.4% of families applying for a secondary place here were offered their first choice, and 95.0% were offered one of the three schools they named.

That is 4.0 points lower than in 2016, when it was 87.4%.

The council's secondary schools between them had 2,178 places for 2,140 applications. That is a total for the whole council and says nothing about any one school in it.


## If a family is refused a place

In 2026, families in Portsmouth lodged 255 appeals about a school place.

196 of them were heard by a panel and 21 succeeded, which is about 11 in every 100 heard.

The other 59 did not reach a panel. Most appeals that do not are withdrawn because a place comes up first.

This is a record of decisions already made. A panel hears one case at a time and decides it on what that family sets out, so these figures do not indicate what would happen in any particular appeal.

Source: Department for Education, admission appeals in England, reporting year 2026. Counts every school in this council area. The share that succeeded is taken over appeals heard by a panel, not over appeals lodged.

## Schools here running specialist SEN provision

8 of this council's published schools run a SEN unit or a resourced provision: teaching for children with special educational needs, on the same site as the rest of the school.

| School | Phase | What it runs |
|---|---|---|
| [Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery, Portsmouth](/school/144194/arundel-court-primary-academy-and-nursery) | primary | SEN unit |
| [Devonshire Infant School, Southsea](/school/116187/devonshire-infant-school) | primary | SEN unit |
| [Milton Park Primary School, Portsmouth](/school/148755/milton-park-primary-school) | primary | SEN unit |
| [Penbridge Infant School & Nursery, Portsmouth](/school/145659/penbridge-infant-school-nursery) | primary | SEN unit |
| [Southsea Infant School, Southsea](/school/116200/southsea-infant-school) | primary | SEN unit |
| [The Flying Bull Academy, Portsmouth](/school/140719/the-flying-bull-academy) | primary | Resourced provision |
| [The Portsmouth Academy, Portsmouth](/school/139714/the-portsmouth-academy) | secondary | SEN unit |
| [Trafalgar School, Portsmouth](/school/141875/trafalgar-school) | secondary | Resourced provision |

This says a provision exists and nothing more. Neither how many children it takes nor which kinds of need it is set up for is published for a mainstream school, and it is not a statement about how well any school supports children with SEN. Ask the school or the council. Source: Department for Education, special educational needs in England.

## All Through

| School | 1st prefs per place | Latest Ofsted |
|---|---:|---|
| [Mayfield School (Portsmouth)](/school/150362/mayfield-school) | 1.04 | Inadequate |

## Primary

| School | 1st prefs per place | Latest Ofsted |
|---|---:|---|
| [Ark Ayrton Primary Academy (Portsmouth)](/school/139713/ark-ayrton-primary-academy) | 0.91 | School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next |
| [Ark Dickens Primary Academy (Portsmouth)](/school/141020/ark-dickens-primary-academy) | 0.92 | Standards maintained |
| [Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery (Portsmouth)](/school/144194/arundel-court-primary-academy-and-nursery) | 0.93 | Needs attention |
| [Beacon View Primary Academy (Portsmouth)](/school/139065/beacon-view-primary-academy) | 0.95 | Not judged |
| [Bramble Infant School and Nursery (Southsea)](/school/116182/bramble-infant-school-and-nursery) | 0.87 | Standards maintained |
| [Copnor Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/141096/copnor-primary-school) | 0.99 | Not judged |
| [Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/148528/corpus-christi-catholic-primary-school) | 0.98 | Good |
| [Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery (Southsea)](/school/148709/cottage-grove-primary-school-and-nursery) | 0.91 | Requires improvement |
| [Court Lane Infant Academy (Portsmouth)](/school/143315/court-lane-infant-academy) | 0.89 | School remains Good |
| [Cumberland Infant School (Southsea)](/school/116192/cumberland-infant-school) | 1.15 | Good |
| [Devonshire Infant School (Southsea)](/school/116187/devonshire-infant-school) | 0.94 | Expected standard |
| [Gatcombe Park Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/141728/gatcombe-park-primary-school) | 1.03 | Good |
| [Highbury Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/144191/highbury-primary-school) | 1.13 | Expected standard |
| [King's Academy College Park (Infant) (Portsmouth)](/school/145452/king-s-academy-college-park-infant) | 0.92 | Good |
| [King's Academy Northern Parade (Infant) (Portsmouth)](/school/145451/king-s-academy-northern-parade-infant) | 0.95 | Not judged |
| [Manor Infant and Nursery School (Portsmouth)](/school/116226/manor-infant-and-nursery-school) | 0.93 | Good |
| [Medina Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/116195/medina-primary-school) | 0.84 | Not judged |
| [Meon Infant School (Southsea)](/school/146135/meon-infant-school) | 0.90 | Not judged |
| [Milton Park Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/148755/milton-park-primary-school) | 0.91 | Good |
| [Moorings Way Infant School (Southsea)](/school/144582/moorings-way-infant-school) | 1.03 | Expected standard |
| [New Horizons Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/141530/new-horizons-primary-school) | 1.03 | Good |
| [Penbridge Infant School & Nursery (Portsmouth)](/school/145659/penbridge-infant-school-nursery) | 0.87 | School remains Good |
| [Portsdown Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/116258/portsdown-primary-school) | 0.93 | Good |
| [Solent Infant School (Portsmouth)](/school/144189/solent-infant-school) | 1.13 | Improved significantly |
| [Southsea Infant School (Southsea)](/school/116200/southsea-infant-school) | 0.76 | Expected standard |
| [St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/116346/st-george-s-beneficial-church-of-england-voluntary-controlled-primary-school) | 0.93 | Not judged |
| [St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/116385/st-john-s-cathedral-catholic-primary-school) | 1.57 | Good |
| [St Jude's CofE Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/116344/st-jude-s-cofe-primary-school) | 0.97 | School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next |
| [St Paul's Catholic Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/116487/st-paul-s-catholic-primary-school) | 1.00 | School remains Good |
| [St Swithun's Catholic Primary School (Southsea)](/school/116386/st-swithun-s-catholic-primary-school) | 1.22 | Standards maintained |
| [Stamshaw Infant Academy (Portsmouth)](/school/146888/stamshaw-infant-academy) | 0.97 | School remains Good |
| [The Flying Bull Academy (Portsmouth)](/school/140719/the-flying-bull-academy) | 0.94 | Needs attention |
| [The Victory Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/139712/the-victory-primary-school) | 1.07 | Not judged |
| [Westover Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/142602/westover-primary-school) | 1.23 | Good |
| [Wimborne Primary School (Portsmouth)](/school/148078/wimborne-primary-school) | 1.03 | Good |

## Secondary

| School | 1st prefs per place | Latest Ofsted |
|---|---:|---|
| [Admiral Lord Nelson School (Portsmouth)](/school/140697/admiral-lord-nelson-school) | 1.16 | Expected standard |
| [Ark Charter Academy (Southsea)](/school/135965/ark-charter-academy) | 0.74 | Not judged |
| [Castle View Academy (Portsmouth)](/school/145372/castle-view-academy) | 0.92 | Expected standard |
| [Miltoncross Academy (Portsmouth)](/school/140605/miltoncross-academy) | 0.62 | Not judged |
| [Priory School (Southsea)](/school/141175/priory-school) | 1.21 | Good |
| [Springfield School (Portsmouth)](/school/144192/springfield-school) | 0.92 | Not judged |
| [St Edmund's Catholic School (Portsmouth)](/school/116505/st-edmund-s-catholic-school) | 1.75 | School remains Outstanding |
| [The Portsmouth Academy (Portsmouth)](/school/139714/the-portsmouth-academy) | 0.55 | School remains Good |
| [Trafalgar School (Portsmouth)](/school/141875/trafalgar-school) | 0.86 | Good |

Full page: /schools/portsmouth
Figures from the Department for Education, Ofsted and local authorities; each school's own page lists its sources and dates.