Portsdown Primary School
Sundridge Close, Wymering, Portsmouth, PO6 3JL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Ash Vaghela
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Portsmouth North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 398
- URN
- 116258
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02392378991
About this school
Portsdown Primary School is a community primary school in Portsmouth. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 398 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
- Early years
- 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 | 60 | 59 | 55 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 38% | 31% | 35% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 0% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 58% | 49% | 44% |
| Expected standard in maths | 65% | 56% | 51% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 56% | 40% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 101.0 | 99.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.90 | - | - |
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 Portsdown Primary 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 | 38% | 48% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 31% | 48.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 35% | 51.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 380 |
| 2023/24 | 357 |
| 2024/25 | 354 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Portsdown Primary School compares
Portsdown Primary School ranked 30th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 35% | 6% | 52% | 398 | — |
| Medina Primary School | 58% | 5.6% | 44.6% | 204 | 0.3 miles |
| Court Lane Infant Academy | — | 5% | 12.9% | 346 | 0.6 miles |
| Court Lane Junior Academy | 57% | 5.2% | 21.8% | 474 | 0.6 miles |
| Highbury Primary School | 63% | 4.8% | 26.5% | 391 | 0.9 miles |
| Beacon View Primary Academy | 41% | 7.2% | 58.8% | 233 | 0.9 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)
- 51.98%
- English as an additional language
- 20.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.99%
- Persistent absence
- 15.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Medina Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Court Lane Infant Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Court Lane Junior Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Highbury Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Beacon View Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
Other schools in Portsmouth
Portsdown Primary School ranks 26th of the 28 ranked primary schools in Portsmouth.
- Ark Ayrton Primary Academy Primary
- Ark Dickens Primary Academy Primary
- Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery Primary
- Beacon View Primary Academy Primary
- Copnor Primary School Primary
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Primary
- Court Lane Infant Academy Primary
- Court Lane Junior Academy Primary
- Gatcombe Park Primary School Primary
- Highbury Primary School Primary
- King's Academy College Park (Infant) Primary
- King's Academy College Park (Junior) Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Portsdown Primary School teach?
- Portsdown Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Portsmouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Portsdown Primary School?
- The headteacher of Portsdown Primary School is Mr Ash Vaghela, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Portsdown Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Portsdown Primary 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 Portsdown Primary School?
- Portsdown Primary School has 398 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Portsdown Primary School full?
- Portsdown Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 398 on roll (95%), 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 Portsdown Primary School a faith school?
- No. Portsdown Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Portsdown Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Portsdown Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Portsdown Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 38% in 2022/23 and 35% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Portsdown Primary School rank locally?
- Portsdown Primary School ranked 30th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Portsdown Primary School's absence rate?
- Portsdown Primary School's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Portsdown Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Portsdown Primary 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.