SchoolFacts.uk

The Cowplain School

Secondary · Waterlooville · PO8 8RY

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 5 March 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

993 pupils · 92% of 1,080 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
30.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
3.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
13.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
4.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.cowplainschool.co.uk/
URN
138038

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 148 families named it first for 176 Year 7 places, 0.84 first choices per place. We hold 8 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2019 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 5 March 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 9.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.84 first-choice applications per place

176 places offered · 148 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

185 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
39.6
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
63.2%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
38.4%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.4
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school39.6
Median of its 12 closest peers41.9
Hampshire average45.2
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Buxton Community SchoolBuxton · 167 miles awayGood41.6
Sedgefield Community CollegeStockton-on-Tees · 261 miles awayStrong standard51.5
Alder Grange SchoolRossendale · 202 miles awayNeeds attention37
Sir William Robertson Academy, WelbournLincoln · 152 miles awayNo current grade39.8
Hawkley Hall High SchoolWigan · 194 miles awayGood40.4
King's Academy Easthampstead ParkBracknell · 37 miles awayExpected standard42.2
King Charles I SchoolKidderminster · 115 miles awayGood44
Workington AcademyWorkington · 279 miles awayExpected standard40.5
The Beaconsfield SchoolBeaconsfield · 52 miles awayGood43.8
Honley High SchoolHolmfirth · 190 miles awayGood50.6
Eggbuckland Community CollegePlymouth · 140 miles awayRequires improvement42.3
Harris Academy WickfordWickford · 83 miles awayRequires improvement35.9

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
11 of 30 places taken places may be available

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 91% (Hampshire 80%, England 59%) · Black African 2% (Hampshire 2%, England 5%) · Any other White background 2% (Hampshire 5%, England 7%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Hampshire 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Hampshire 1%, England 1%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Hampshire 0%, England 0%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Hampshire 2%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 1% (Hampshire 2%, England 4%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
9.8%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
25.1%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

18.40 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Hampshire: 20.23 suspensions and 0.09 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
18
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

89% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 2% moved to another state school · 9% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

74.2% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.3 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £52,870; 11.1% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,931
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (77%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 5% (6%) · supplies and services 13% (11%) · educational supplies 9% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 1% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £2,126,000; in-year balance +£418,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
84%
Continuing in education
73%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
6%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher28.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications15.6%18.1%
In managerial or professional work36.9%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways11.1%18.1%
Residents in very good health48.8%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier90.1%62.3%
Social housing0.8%17.1%
Privately rented9.2%20.5%
Detached houses53.8%22.9%
Flats4.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms32.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van8.6%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01022931 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£345,000394 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£296,500–£415,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (133)£435,000
Semi-detached (164)£345,000
Terraced (64)£285,000
Flat (33)£164,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
4an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
16an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
5an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools