The Burgate School and Sixth Form
Salisbury Road, Fordingbridge, SP6 1EZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE BURGATE SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM
- Headteacher
- Mr David Pover
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- New Forest West
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,150
- Pupils on roll
- 1,073
- URN
- 136719
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01425652039
About this school
The Burgate School and Sixth Form is a secondary academy in Fordingbridge. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,073 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 November 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 156 | 146 | 187 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.8 | 52.8 | 46.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.01 -0.24 to +0.22 | +0.17 -0.07 to +0.40 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 58.9% | 44.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 78% | 84.2% | 70.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 44% | 15.8% | 40.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.1 |
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 Burgate School and Sixth Form 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 | 50.8 | 37.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.8 | 37.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.6 | 37.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,116 |
| 2023/24 | 1,072 |
| 2024/25 | 1,098 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Burgate School and Sixth Form compares
The Burgate School and Sixth Form ranked 30th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.6 | 6.1% | 12.8% | 1,073 | — |
| The Trafalgar School at Downton | 44.3 | 8.6% | 15.2% | 808 | 3.9 miles |
| Ringwood School Academy | 56.2 | 7.3% | 18.1% | 1,592 | 6.2 miles |
| Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School | 73.1 | 4.7% | 5.2% | 1,193 | 8.9 miles |
| South Wilts Grammar School | 77 | 4.2% | 2.4% | 1,200 | 9.9 miles |
| Wyvern St Edmund's Academy | 42.2 | 9.8% | 21.9% | 1,337 | 9.9 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)
- 12.75%
- English as an additional language
- 3.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.11%
- Persistent absence
- 17.75%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Trafalgar School at Downton3.9 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
Ringwood School Academy6.2 miles
Secondary · Ringwood
-
Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School8.9 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
South Wilts Grammar School9.9 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
Wyvern St Edmund's Academy9.9 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
Other schools in Fordingbridge
- Breamore Church of England Primary School Primary
- Fordingbridge Infant School Primary
- Fordingbridge Junior School Primary
- Hale Primary School Primary
- Hyde Church of England Primary School Primary
- St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt Primary
- Western Downland Church of England Aided Primary School Primary
- Forres Sandle Manor School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Burgate School and Sixth Form teach?
- The Burgate School and Sixth Form teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Fordingbridge.
- Who is the headteacher of The Burgate School and Sixth Form?
- The headteacher of The Burgate School and Sixth Form is Mr David Pover, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Burgate School and Sixth Form last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Burgate School and Sixth Form, 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 The Burgate School and Sixth Form?
- The Burgate School and Sixth Form has 1,073 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Burgate School and Sixth Form full?
- The Burgate School and Sixth Form has capacity for 1,150 pupils and 1,073 on roll (93%), 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 Burgate School and Sixth Form a faith school?
- No. The Burgate School and Sixth Form has no designated religious character.
- Is The Burgate School and Sixth Form a selective school?
- No. The Burgate School and Sixth Form is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Burgate School and Sixth Form?
- The Burgate School and Sixth Form is part of THE BURGATE SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Burgate School and Sixth Form's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.8 in 2022/23 and 46.6 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 Burgate School and Sixth Form rank locally?
- The Burgate School and Sixth Form ranked 30th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% 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 Burgate School and Sixth Form's absence rate?
- The Burgate School and Sixth Form's overall absence rate is 6.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Burgate School and Sixth Form's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Burgate School and Sixth Form'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.