Orchard Junior School
Water Lane, Dibden Purlieu, Southampton, SO45 4SB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Carol Taylor
- Constituency
- New Forest East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 355
- URN
- 115988
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02380843162
About this school
Orchard Junior School is a community primary school in Southampton. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 355 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- 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 | 89 | 92 | 89 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 51% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 3% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 64% | 70% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 65% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 75% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.40 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How Orchard Junior 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 | Hampshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67% | 58.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 51% | 58.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 358 |
| 2023/24 | 350 |
| 2024/25 | 354 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Orchard Junior School compares
Orchard Junior School ranked 161st of 303 primary schools in Hampshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 4.1% | 17.5% | 355 | — |
| Orchard Infant School | — | — | — | 270 | 0.0 miles |
| Wildground Infant School | — | 7.2% | 36.4% | 185 | 0.5 miles |
| Wildground Junior School | 75% | 5.2% | 41.3% | 197 | 0.6 miles |
| Hythe Primary School | 62% | 5% | 29.6% | 238 | 0.7 miles |
| Waterside Primary School | 57% | 5.5% | 46.9% | 170 | 0.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.51%
- English as an additional language
- 6.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.07%
- Persistent absence
- 5.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Orchard Infant School0.0 miles
Primary · Southampton
-
Wildground Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Southampton
-
Wildground Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Southampton
-
Hythe Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Southampton
-
Waterside Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Southampton
Other schools in Southampton
Orchard Junior School ranks 36th of the 79 ranked primary schools in Southampton.
- Abbotswood Junior School Primary
- Banister Primary School Primary
- Bartley Church of England Junior School Primary
- Bassett Green Primary School Primary
- Beechwood Junior School Primary
- Berrywood Primary School Primary
- Bevois Town Primary School Primary
- Bishop's Waltham Junior School Primary
- Bishops Waltham Infant School Primary
- Bitterne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bitterne Manor Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Bitterne Park Primary & Nursery School - Part of the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Orchard Junior School teach?
- Orchard Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Southampton.
- Who is the headteacher of Orchard Junior School?
- The headteacher of Orchard Junior School is Mrs Carol Taylor, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Orchard Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Orchard Junior 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 Orchard Junior School?
- Orchard Junior School has 355 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Orchard Junior School full?
- Orchard Junior School has capacity for 360 pupils and 355 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 Orchard Junior School a faith school?
- No. Orchard Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Orchard Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Orchard Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Orchard Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 64% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Orchard Junior School rank locally?
- Orchard Junior School ranked 161st of 303 primary schools in Hampshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Orchard Junior School's absence rate?
- Orchard Junior School's overall absence rate is 4.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Orchard Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Orchard Junior 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 30 June 2026.