Ferndown Upper School

State-Funded School

ferndown-upper-school-dorset-south-west

South WestRegion

DorsetLocal Authority

ChristchurchConstituency

BH22 9EYPostcode

5.6

Academic Performance

Previous Ofsted

About the School

Ferndown Upper School is a state-funded secondary for pupils aged 13–19, located in Dorset, South West.

Ofsted's most recent inspection is published as a report card rather than a single overall grade. It currently serves 1,134 pupils.

Ofsted Report Card

Inspected 3 Mar 2026 · published 5 May 2026

Current inspection

Safeguarding standards

Met

Evaluation areas

Inclusion
Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching
Expected standard
Achievement
Strong standard
Attendance and behaviour
Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing
Strong standard
Post-16 provision
Expected standard
Leadership and governance
Strong standard

Previous Ofsted Rating

Subject Areas (previous framework)

Leadership &management

Good

Sixth formprovision

Good

Academic Performance

Around average

Ranked against secondary schools in England · 2024-25

Attainment 8: 45.7
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 45.4%
EBacc average point score: 3.53

Ethnicity

White

94%

Asian

Black

<1%

Mixed

Any other group

<1%

Unclassified

<1%

Pupils

1,134

Total Pupils

50%Boys

50%Girls

Pupil Characteristics

Free school meals

19%

England average

27%

First language not English

England average

22%

Young carers

England average

0%25%50%75%100%

DfE school census, January 2026.

Key Information

Phase: Secondary
Age range: 13 – 19
Deprivation band: Less deprived
Total pupils: 1,134
IDACI quintile: 2 (More deprived)

Inspection history

Ofsted has published one graded inspection for this school. The most recent ungraded inspection is shown below.

School remains Good

Ungraded inspection on 8 December 2021. An ungraded inspection checks whether the existing grade still holds; it does not award a new one.

Read the inspection letter on Ofsted

Report published					Overall
1 Jul 2016	Good	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Good

A grey dot means Ofsted did not report that judgement in the inspection of the day — the sub-judgements shown here were introduced with the 2019 framework.

Ofsted data as at 31 December 2024. A school may have been inspected since, or had an ungraded visit that does not change its grade — check Ofsted’s own record.