St Aldhelm's Academy

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · BH12 4HS

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 808 pupils, 45.4% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 20.3% on SEN support Behaviour 13.0% absence rate Staff 26.4% turnover Financials £7,528 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Aldhelm's Academy

General Information

Address: Herbert Avenue, Poole, BH12 4HS – View on map
Phone: 01202732500
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Stuart Ingram
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 70 families put it first for 152 places – 5 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 152 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 7 · 2024 7 · 2025 7 · 2026 5
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

808 pupils out of 900 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 367
% eligible for free school meals: 45.4%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole average)
English as an additional language: 18% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 26.4% a year (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 16.5%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 57% moved to another school, 43% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 28 (1.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 60 (2.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 13 (0.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 13.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 34.1%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 20.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 55 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 39 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 20 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 20 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 14 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 26 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card March 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Needs attention
Curriculum and teaching Needs attention
Achievement Urgent improvement
Attendance and behaviour Needs attention
Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention
Leadership and governance Needs attention

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Attainment 8 score: 33.6
Compared with the area: 18.4 points below the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole average (52.0)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−7.0 points against an expected 40.6)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 45% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 77%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 18.4 points below the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole average (52.0).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

21st of 22 secondary schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole for Attainment 8

#19The Cornerstone Academy41.0
#20The Grange School36.3
#21St Aldhelm's Academy33.6
#22Oak Academy32.5

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Bournemouth School74.2
#2Bournemouth School for Girls72.2
#3Poole Grammar School70.2
#4Parkstone Grammar School68.5
#5Glenmoor Academy60.7
#6Winton Academy55.4
#7Twynham School53.5
#8Avonbourne Girls Academy53.0
#9Poole High School51.0
#10The Bishop of Winchester Academy49.6
#11Avonbourne Boys' Academy47.3
#12Highcliffe School47.0
#13St Peter's Catholic Comprehensive School47.0
#14Corfe Hills School46.7
#15St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole46.4
#16Magna Academy44.3
#17The Bourne Academy44.2
#18LeAF Studio42.4
#19The Cornerstone Academy41.0
#20The Grange School36.3
#21St Aldhelm's Academy33.6
#22Oak Academy32.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 90.0%
Went into further education: 74.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
Science Double Award
English Literature
History
Geography
Business Studies
Photography
Art & Design
D & T
Religious Studies
Spanish
Biology
Portuguese
Polish
Russian
German
Arabic
Chinese
Psychology (General)
Chemistry (General)
Italian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,528 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

8th of 24 secondary schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole for spending per pupil

#6The Grange School£7,568
#7Broadstone Middle School£7,530
#8St Aldhelm's Academy£7,528
#9Oak Academy£7,443
#10Poole High School£7,415

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Winton Academy£13,105
#2The Bourne Academy£9,307
#3The Cornerstone Academy£8,858
#4St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole£7,682
#5Avonbourne Boys' Academy£7,588
#6The Grange School£7,568
#7Broadstone Middle School£7,530
#8St Aldhelm's Academy£7,528
#9Oak Academy£7,443
#10Poole High School£7,415
#11Poole Grammar School£7,271
#12Twynham School£7,254
#13Avonbourne Girls Academy£7,246
#14LeAF Studio£7,115
#15Bournemouth School for Girls£6,932
#16St Peter's Catholic Comprehensive School£6,906
#17Magna Academy£6,861
#18Corfe Hills School£6,807
#19Highcliffe School£6,799
#20The Bishop of Winchester Academy£6,691
#21Parkstone Grammar School£6,688
#22Bournemouth School£6,415
#23Livingstone Academy Bournemouth£6,090
#24Glenmoor Academy£2,645

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered