Upper Shirley High School
Bellemoor Road, Upper Shirley, Southampton, SO15 7QU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- HAMWIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headmaster
- Mr Christopher Sykes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Hamwic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Southampton Test
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 990
- Pupils on roll
- 1,062
- URN
- 137037
- Local authority
- Southampton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02380325333
About this school
Upper Shirley High School is a secondary academy in Southampton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,062 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Upper Shirley High 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
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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 180 | 210 | 217 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.8 | 49.2 | 47.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.11 -0.32 to +0.10 | +0.09 -0.10 to +0.29 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 51% | 57.6% | 49.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 73.3% | 68.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 50% | 37.1% | 29.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.3 | 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 Upper Shirley High 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 | 46.8 | 38 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.2 | 34.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47 | 34 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,031 |
| 2023/24 | 1,062 |
| 2024/25 | 1,081 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Upper Shirley High School compares
Upper Shirley High School ranked 3rd of 11 secondary schools in Southampton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 66% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47 | 8.3% | 29.8% | 1,062 | — |
| Regents Park Community College | — | — | — | 812 | 0.9 miles |
| St Anne's Catholic School | 55.6 | 7.2% | 33.2% | 1,189 | 1.3 miles |
| Oasis Academy Lord's Hill | 37 | 18.8% | 49.1% | 667 | 1.4 miles |
| Cantell School | 46.9 | 7.6% | 43.5% | 1,313 | 1.4 miles |
| Redbridge Community School | 32.2 | 14.4% | 55.7% | 1,106 | 1.9 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report22 January 2025
- 22 October 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 29.79%
- English as an additional language
- 33.8%
- Overall absence
- 8.27%
- Persistent absence
- 20.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Regents Park Community College0.9 miles
Secondary · Southampton
-
St Anne's Catholic School1.3 miles
Secondary · Southampton
-
Oasis Academy Lord's Hill1.4 miles
Secondary · Southampton
-
Cantell School1.4 miles
Secondary · Southampton
-
Redbridge Community School1.9 miles
Secondary · Southampton
Other schools in Southampton
Upper Shirley High School ranks 7th of the 20 ranked secondary schools in Southampton.
- Applemore College Secondary
- Bitterne Park School Secondary
- Brookfield Community School Secondary
- Cantell School Secondary
- Deer Park School Secondary
- Hounsdown School Secondary
- Lift New Forest Secondary
- Noadswood School Secondary
- Oasis Academy Lord's Hill Secondary
- Oasis Academy Mayfield Secondary
- Oasis Academy Sholing Secondary
- Redbridge Community School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Upper Shirley High School teach?
- Upper Shirley High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Southampton.
- Who is the headmaster of Upper Shirley High School?
- The headmaster of Upper Shirley High School is Mr Christopher Sykes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Upper Shirley High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Upper Shirley High 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 Upper Shirley High School?
- Upper Shirley High School has 1,062 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Upper Shirley High School full?
- Upper Shirley High School has capacity for 990 pupils and 1,062 on roll (107%), 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 Upper Shirley High School a faith school?
- No. Upper Shirley High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Upper Shirley High School a selective school?
- No. Upper Shirley High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Upper Shirley High School part of an academy trust?
- Upper Shirley High School is part of HAMWIC EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Upper Shirley High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.8 in 2022/23 and 47 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Upper Shirley High School compare with other schools in Southampton?
- Upper Shirley High School ranked 3rd of 11 secondary schools in Southampton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 66% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Upper Shirley High School's absence rate?
- Upper Shirley High School's overall absence rate is 8.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Upper Shirley High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Upper Shirley High 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.