Trafalgar School

Portsmouth · PO2 9RJ

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 1031 pupils, 41.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 23.3% on SEN support Behaviour 8.2% absence rate Staff 11.6% turnover Financials £7,922 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

We haven't asked this school for its behaviour and staffing figures yet. Sign up to tell us you'd like them, and we'll email you when they arrive.

Notify me

Your email address

Leave this empty

We'll email you a link to confirm first. Your address is only used for news about this school, and every email has a link to stop them. Privacy

Trafalgar School

General Information

Address: London Road, Hilsea, Portsmouth, PO2 9RJ – View on map
Phone: 02392693521
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Gemma Pearse
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 192 families put it first for 224 places – 9 for every 10 places. 98% of them were offered a place. 2 of the 224 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 11 · 2025 14 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1031 pupils out of 1000 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 429
% eligible for free school meals: 41.6%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (less mixed than the Portsmouth average)
English as an additional language: 13% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 11.6% a year (Portsmouth 15.3%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 30% moved to another school, 70% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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 Portsmouth: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 14 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 19 (1.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 17 (1.5 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 Portsmouth, 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: 8.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 21.0%
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

Resourced provision for Autism 15 places · 15 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 23.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 108 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 60 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 26 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 23 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 15 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 24 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 13 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils

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 –

Be the first to review — win £100 of books for your school Every honest review enters you into our prize draw

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

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.

–

Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 43.5
Compared with the area: 1.3 points above the Portsmouth average (42.2)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−0.2 points against an expected 43.7)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 65% (Portsmouth 60%, England 65%) Improving
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 schoolPortsmouth averageEngland↗ Improving Up 4.8 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 1.3 points above the Portsmouth average (42.2).

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.

4th of 10 secondary schools in Portsmouth for Attainment 8

#2UTC Portsmouth48.3
#3Priory School44.7
#4Trafalgar School43.5
#5Admiral Lord Nelson School40.4
#6Springfield School39.8

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1St Edmund's Catholic School58.9
#2UTC Portsmouth48.3
#3Priory School44.7
#4Trafalgar School43.5
#5Admiral Lord Nelson School40.4
#6Springfield School39.8
#7Ark Charter Academy38.9
#8Miltoncross Academy36.3
#9Castle View Academy35.6
#10The Portsmouth Academy33.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 89.0%
Went into further education: 81.0%
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
English Literature
Science Double Award
Statistics
Geography
History
Business Studies
Spanish
Photography
Art & Design
French Language
Computer Science
Food Technology
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Physics (General)
Sociology
Sports Studies
Media Studies
Polish

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

5th of 6 secondary schools in Portsmouth for Ofsted rating

#3Springfield SchoolGood
#4The Portsmouth AcademyGood
#5Trafalgar SchoolGood
#6Mayfield SchoolInadequate

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1St Edmund's Catholic SchoolOutstanding
#2Priory SchoolGood
#3Springfield SchoolGood
#4The Portsmouth AcademyGood
#5Trafalgar SchoolGood
#6Mayfield SchoolInadequate

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,922 (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.

5th of 11 secondary schools in Portsmouth for spending per pupil

#3Priory School£8,087
#4UTC Portsmouth£7,978
#5Trafalgar School£7,922
#6Miltoncross Academy£7,919
#7Admiral Lord Nelson School£7,638

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

#1Ark Charter Academy£9,612
#2Castle View Academy£9,075
#3Priory School£8,087
#4UTC Portsmouth£7,978
#5Trafalgar School£7,922
#6Miltoncross Academy£7,919
#7Admiral Lord Nelson School£7,638
#8St Edmund's Catholic School£7,140
#9Springfield School£7,021
#10The Portsmouth Academy£6,997
#11Mayfield School£6,639

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

Have you rated Trafalgar School yet? Your experience helps other parents.

Rate this school

General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Portsmouth: 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 ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered