The Arnewood School
Gore Road, New Milton, BH25 6RS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- BOURNE EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Jamie Anderson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Bourne Education Trust
- Constituency
- New Forest West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 839
- URN
- 136652
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01425625400
About this school
The Arnewood School is a secondary academy in New Milton. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 839 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Arnewood 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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- 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 | 188 | 161 | 179 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.5 | 36.9 | 37.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.69 -0.90 to -0.49 | -0.84 -1.07 to -0.62 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 23% | 22.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 41.6% | 45.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 35% | 19.3% | 16.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
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 Arnewood 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 | 41.5 | 37.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 36.9 | 37.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 37.6 | 37.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 957 |
| 2024/25 | 900 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Arnewood School compares
The Arnewood School ranked 58th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 32% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37.6 | 7.9% | 26.7% | 839 | — |
| Highcliffe School | 47 | 7% | 14.9% | 1,519 | 2.6 miles |
| The Grange School | 36.3 | 15.7% | 43.9% | 429 | 4.1 miles |
| Priestlands School | 48.8 | 8.4% | 20.3% | 1,205 | 4.8 miles |
| Twynham School | 53.5 | 8% | 18.4% | 1,651 | 5.3 miles |
| Avonbourne Boys' Academy | 47.3 | 6.5% | 27.6% | 846 | 7.2 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
-
Graded inspection report17 March 2026
- 19 March 2024
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.74%
- English as an additional language
- 14.9%
- Overall absence
- 7.94%
- Persistent absence
- 23.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Highcliffe School2.6 miles
Secondary · Christchurch
-
The Grange School4.1 miles
Secondary · Christchurch
-
Priestlands School4.8 miles
Secondary · Lymington
-
Twynham School5.3 miles
Secondary · Christchurch
-
Avonbourne Boys' Academy7.2 miles
Secondary · Bournemouth
Other schools in New Milton
- Ashley Infant School Primary
- Ashley Junior School Primary
- New Milton Infant School Primary
- New Milton Junior School Primary
- The Eaglewood School Free Schools
- Ballard School Independent schools
- Durlston School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does The Arnewood School teach?
- The Arnewood School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in New Milton.
- Who is the headteacher of The Arnewood School?
- The headteacher of The Arnewood School is Mr Jamie Anderson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Arnewood School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Arnewood 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 Arnewood School?
- The Arnewood School has 839 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Arnewood School full?
- The Arnewood School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 839 on roll (70%), 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 The Arnewood School a faith school?
- No. The Arnewood School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Arnewood School a selective school?
- No. The Arnewood School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Arnewood School part of an academy trust?
- The Arnewood School is part of BOURNE EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Arnewood School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.5 in 2022/23 and 37.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Arnewood School compare with other schools in Hampshire?
- The Arnewood School ranked 58th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 32% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Arnewood School's absence rate?
- The Arnewood School's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Arnewood School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Arnewood 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 1 July 2026.