Winchelsea School
Guernsey Road, Parkstone, Poole, BH12 4LL
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 4 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Head Teacher
- Mr Geoff Cherrill
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bournemouth West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 250
- Pupils on roll
- 248
- URN
- 113955
- Local authority
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01202746240
About this school
Winchelsea School is a community special school in Poole. It teaches children aged 4 to 19 and has 248 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 10 | 21 | 1 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | 88.0 | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | 96.0 | - | - |
| Reading progress | -3.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 13 | 19 | 31 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | 0.1 |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | 0.0 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Winchelsea School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 58.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | — | 59% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 219 |
| 2023/24 | 238 |
| 2024/25 | 235 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
- 7 June 2022
-
Ungraded inspection report2 October 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 43.38%
- English as an additional language
- 14%
- Overall absence
- 9.57%
- Persistent absence
- 27.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Lion Works School0.3 miles
Special schools · Poole
-
The Quay School0.6 miles
Academies · Poole
-
Langside School1.0 miles
Special schools · Poole
-
Arts University Bournemouth1.6 miles
Universities · Poole
-
Bournemouth University1.6 miles
Universities · Poole
Other schools in Poole
- Langside School Special schools
- Longspee Academy Academies
- Montacute School Academies
- The Lion Works School Special schools
- The Quay School Academies
- The White House School Special schools
- Victoria Education Centre Special schools
- Ad Astra Infant School Primary
- Baden-Powell and St Peter's Church of England Junior School Primary
- Bayside Academy Primary
- Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Canford Heath Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Winchelsea School teach?
- Winchelsea School teaches children aged 4 to 19. It is a special school in Poole.
- Who is the head teacher of Winchelsea School?
- The head teacher of Winchelsea School is Mr Geoff Cherrill, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Winchelsea School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Winchelsea School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Winchelsea School?
- Winchelsea School has 248 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 19.
- Is Winchelsea School full?
- Winchelsea School has capacity for 250 pupils and 248 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Winchelsea School a faith school?
- No. Winchelsea School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Winchelsea School have?
- The schools register lists Winchelsea School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Winchelsea School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2023/24. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Winchelsea School's absence rate?
- Winchelsea School's overall absence rate is 9.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Winchelsea School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Winchelsea School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.