Hounsdown School
Jacobs Gutter Lane, Totton, Southampton, SO40 9FT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- HOUNSDOWN SCHOOL
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr David Veal
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- New Forest East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,215
- Pupils on roll
- 1,283
- URN
- 137229
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02380862981
About this school
Hounsdown School is a secondary academy in Southampton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,283 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Hounsdown 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
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 259 | 257 | 252 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.6 | 46.6 | 46.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.16 -0.34 to +0.01 | -0.21 -0.38 to -0.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 47.5% | 43.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 70.4% | 67.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 62% | 64.2% | 61.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
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 Hounsdown 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 | 49.6 | 37.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.6 | 37.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.1 | 37.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,296 |
| 2023/24 | 1,299 |
| 2024/25 | 1,281 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hounsdown School compares
Hounsdown School ranked 31st of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.1 | 8.7% | 17.6% | 1,283 | — |
| Testwood School | 42.9 | 10.6% | 31% | 820 | 1.4 miles |
| Redbridge Community School | 32.2 | 14.4% | 55.7% | 1,106 | 1.7 miles |
| Regents Park Community College | — | — | — | 812 | 2.5 miles |
| Oasis Academy Lord's Hill | 37 | 18.8% | 49.1% | 667 | 2.7 miles |
| Upper Shirley High School | 47 | 8.3% | 29.8% | 1,062 | 3.5 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
- 5 June 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report22 March 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.56%
- English as an additional language
- 5.5%
- Overall absence
- 8.69%
- Persistent absence
- 22.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Testwood School1.4 miles
Secondary · Southampton
-
Redbridge Community School1.7 miles
Secondary · Southampton
-
Regents Park Community College2.5 miles
Secondary · Southampton
-
Oasis Academy Lord's Hill2.7 miles
Secondary · Southampton
-
Upper Shirley High School3.5 miles
Secondary · Southampton
Other schools in Southampton
Hounsdown School ranks 9th 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
- 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
- Regents Park Community College Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Hounsdown School teach?
- Hounsdown School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Southampton.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Hounsdown School?
- The executive headteacher of Hounsdown School is Mr David Veal, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Hounsdown School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hounsdown 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 Hounsdown School?
- Hounsdown School has 1,283 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Hounsdown School full?
- Hounsdown School has capacity for 1,215 pupils and 1,283 on roll (106%), 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 Hounsdown School a faith school?
- No. Hounsdown School has no designated religious character.
- Is Hounsdown School a selective school?
- No. Hounsdown School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Hounsdown School part of an academy trust?
- Hounsdown School is part of HOUNSDOWN SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Hounsdown School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.6 in 2022/23 and 46.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hounsdown School compare with other schools in Hampshire?
- Hounsdown School ranked 31st of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hounsdown School's absence rate?
- Hounsdown School's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hounsdown School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hounsdown 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.