Fernhurst Junior School
Francis Avenue, Southsea, PO4 0AG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Roberta Kirby
- Constituency
- Portsmouth South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 349
- URN
- 116221
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02392735998
About this school
Fernhurst Junior School is a community primary school in Southsea. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 349 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 87 | 83 | 88 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 57% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 75% | 76% |
| Expected standard in maths | 69% | 75% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 60% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.70 | - | - |
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 Fernhurst 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 | Portsmouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56% | 48% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 48.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 51.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 353 |
| 2023/24 | 360 |
| 2024/25 | 361 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Fernhurst Junior School compares
Fernhurst Junior School ranked 17th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 4.6% | 38.8% | 349 | — |
| Devonshire Infant School | — | 5.5% | 30.9% | 171 | 0.0 miles |
| Bramble Infant School and Nursery | — | 4.9% | 16.1% | 162 | 0.2 miles |
| Wimborne Primary School | 51% | 4.4% | 18.8% | 557 | 0.4 miles |
| Penbridge Infant School & Nursery | — | 5.4% | 28% | 207 | 0.4 miles |
| Cumberland Infant School | — | 3.4% | 11.9% | 172 | 0.4 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)
- 38.78%
- English as an additional language
- 38.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.61%
- Persistent absence
- 9.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Devonshire Infant School0.0 miles
Primary · Southsea
-
Bramble Infant School and Nursery0.2 miles
Primary · Southsea
-
Wimborne Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Penbridge Infant School & Nursery0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Cumberland Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Southsea
Other schools in Southsea
- Bramble Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Craneswater Junior School Primary
- Cumberland Infant School Primary
- Devonshire Infant School Primary
- Meon Infant School Primary
- Moorings Way Infant School Primary
- Southsea Infant School Primary
- St Swithun's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Ark Charter Academy Secondary
- Priory School Secondary
- Mayville High School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Fernhurst Junior School teach?
- Fernhurst Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Southsea.
- Who is the headteacher of Fernhurst Junior School?
- The headteacher of Fernhurst Junior School is Mrs Roberta Kirby, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Fernhurst Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Fernhurst 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 Fernhurst Junior School?
- Fernhurst Junior School has 349 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Fernhurst Junior School full?
- Fernhurst Junior School has capacity for 360 pupils and 349 on roll (97%), 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 Fernhurst Junior School a faith school?
- No. Fernhurst Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Fernhurst Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Fernhurst Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Fernhurst Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Fernhurst Junior School rank locally?
- Fernhurst Junior School ranked 17th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Fernhurst Junior School's absence rate?
- Fernhurst Junior School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Fernhurst Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Fernhurst 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.