Merton Infant School and Nursery
Romsey Close, Popley Way, Basingstoke, RG24 9HB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Larissa James
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Basingstoke
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 270
- Pupils on roll
- 216
- URN
- 116004
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01256324507
About this school
Merton Infant School and Nursery is a community primary school in Basingstoke. It teaches children aged 2 to 7 and has 216 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Merton Infant School and Nursery, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How Merton Infant School and Nursery has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 203 |
| 2023/24 | 177 |
| 2024/25 | 215 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Merton Infant School and Nursery compares
Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 4.3% | 25.4% | 216 | — |
| Merton Junior School | 46% | 4.1% | 34.9% | 245 | 0.0 miles |
| St Bede's Catholic Primary School | 85% | 3.5% | 5.3% | 451 | 0.3 miles |
| Oakridge Infant School | — | 4.2% | 18.9% | 320 | 0.4 miles |
| Oakridge Junior School | 77% | 3.7% | 28.5% | 345 | 0.4 miles |
| South View Infant and Nursery School | — | 6.3% | 31.6% | 211 | 0.7 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.42%
- English as an additional language
- 39.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.28%
- Persistent absence
- 10.69%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Merton Junior School0.0 miles
Primary · Basingstoke
-
St Bede's Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Basingstoke
-
Oakridge Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Basingstoke
-
Oakridge Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Basingstoke
-
South View Infant and Nursery School0.7 miles
Primary · Basingstoke
Other schools in Basingstoke
- Castle Hill Infant School Primary
- Castle Hill Primary School Primary
- Chalk Ridge Primary School Primary
- Chiltern Primary School Primary
- Cliddesden Primary School Primary
- Fairfields Primary School Primary
- Four Lanes Community Junior School Primary
- Four Lanes Infant School Primary
- Great Binfields Primary School Primary
- Hatch Warren Infant School Primary
- Hatch Warren Junior School Primary
- Hounsome Fields Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Merton Infant School and Nursery teach?
- Merton Infant School and Nursery teaches children aged 2 to 7. It is a primary school in Basingstoke.
- Who is the headteacher of Merton Infant School and Nursery?
- The headteacher of Merton Infant School and Nursery is Mrs Larissa James, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Merton Infant School and Nursery been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Merton Infant School and Nursery, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Merton Infant School and Nursery?
- Merton Infant School and Nursery has 216 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 7.
- Is Merton Infant School and Nursery full?
- Merton Infant School and Nursery has capacity for 270 pupils and 216 on roll (80%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Merton Infant School and Nursery a faith school?
- No. Merton Infant School and Nursery has no designated religious character.
- Does Merton Infant School and Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Merton Infant School and Nursery as having nursery classes.
- What is Merton Infant School and Nursery's absence rate?
- Merton Infant School and Nursery's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Merton Infant School and Nursery publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Merton Infant School and Nursery. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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.