The Polygon School
Handel Terrace, Southampton, SO15 2FH
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Boys
- Trust
- Southampton Co-operative Learning Trust
- Headteacher
- Mr Benjamin Penfold
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Southampton Itchen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 77
- Pupils on roll
- 77
- URN
- 116624
- Local authority
- Southampton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02380636776
About this school
The Polygon School is a boys' foundation special school in Southampton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 77 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Polygon School, 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 14 | 19 | 12 |
| Attainment 8 score | 3.1 | 1.2 | 2.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -2.19 -3.03 to -1.36 | -2.09 -2.80 to -1.37 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.2 | 0.0 | 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 The Polygon 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 | Southampton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.1 | 38 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 1.2 | 34.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 2.4 | 34 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 19.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 20.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 17.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 69 |
| 2023/24 | 72 |
| 2024/25 | 76 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 82.89%
- English as an additional language
- 1.3%
- Overall absence
- 17.84%
- Persistent absence
- 48.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Southampton Solent University0.6 miles
Universities · Southampton
-
New Avenue School0.7 miles
Special schools · Southampton
-
Oaktree Education Services Limited0.8 miles
Other types · Southampton
-
King Edward VI School0.9 miles
Independent schools · Southampton
-
The Gregg Preparatory School1.1 miles
Independent schools
Other schools in Southampton
- Bower Lodge School Special schools
- Compass School Local authority maintained schools
- Dibden Park School Special schools
- Fair Ways School Special schools
- Forest Park School Special schools
- Great Oaks School Academies
- Greenwood School Local authority maintained schools
- King's Academy Lord Wilson Academies
- New Avenue School Special schools
- New Forest Alternative Provision Special schools
- Oak Lodge School Special schools
- Oaktree Education Services Limited Other types
Common questions
- What ages does The Polygon School teach?
- The Polygon School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a special school in Southampton.
- Who is the headteacher of The Polygon School?
- The headteacher of The Polygon School is Mr Benjamin Penfold, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Polygon School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Polygon 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 many pupils are at The Polygon School?
- The Polygon School has 77 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Polygon School full?
- The Polygon School has capacity for 77 pupils and 77 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 The Polygon School a faith school?
- No. The Polygon School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Polygon School part of an academy trust?
- The Polygon School is part of Southampton Co-operative Learning Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Polygon School have?
- The schools register lists The Polygon School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Polygon School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 3.1 in 2022/23 and 2.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is The Polygon School's absence rate?
- The Polygon School's overall absence rate is 17.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Polygon School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Polygon 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.