The Cowplain School
Hart Plain Avenue, Cowplain, Waterlooville, PO8 8RY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE COWPLAIN SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Ian Gates
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Fareham and Waterlooville
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,080
- Pupils on roll
- 993
- URN
- 138038
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02392612020
About this school
The Cowplain School is a secondary academy in Waterlooville. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 993 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Cowplain School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 141 | 182 | 185 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.6 | 39.0 | 39.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.48 -0.72 to -0.24 | -0.24 -0.45 to -0.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 35.2% | 38.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 57.7% | 63.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 29% | 23.6% | 20.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
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 Cowplain 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 | 38.6 | 37.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39 | 37.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.6 | 37.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 946 |
| 2023/24 | 995 |
| 2024/25 | 1,011 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Cowplain School compares
The Cowplain School ranked 50th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 37% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.6 | 10.1% | 28.1% | 993 | — |
| Horndean Technology College | 47.8 | 6.4% | 20.6% | 1,288 | 1.7 miles |
| Oaklands Catholic School | 52.3 | 5.5% | 17.2% | 1,419 | 1.7 miles |
| Crookhorn College | 42.6 | 8.1% | 27.6% | 943 | 1.8 miles |
| Park Community School | 28.3 | 15.5% | 62.9% | 1,006 | 1.9 miles |
| Purbrook Park School | 47.7 | 7.8% | 21.5% | 921 | 2.3 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)
- 28.09%
- English as an additional language
- 3.3%
- Overall absence
- 10.05%
- Persistent absence
- 27.9%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Horndean Technology College1.7 miles
Secondary · Waterlooville
-
Oaklands Catholic School1.7 miles
Secondary · Waterlooville
-
Crookhorn College1.8 miles
Secondary · Waterlooville
-
Park Community School1.9 miles
Secondary · Havant
-
Purbrook Park School2.3 miles
Secondary · Waterlooville
Other schools in Waterlooville
The Cowplain School ranks 5th of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Waterlooville.
- Crookhorn College Secondary
- Horndean Technology College Secondary
- Oaklands Catholic School Secondary
- Purbrook Park School Secondary
- Berewood Primary School Primary
- Catherington Church of England Infant School Primary
- Clanfield Junior School Primary
- Denmead Infant School Primary
- Denmead Junior School Primary
- Hambledon Primary School Primary
- Hart Plain Junior School Primary
- Horndean Church of England Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Cowplain School teach?
- The Cowplain School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Waterlooville.
- Who is the headteacher of The Cowplain School?
- The headteacher of The Cowplain School is Mr Ian Gates, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Cowplain School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Cowplain 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 Cowplain School?
- The Cowplain School has 993 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Cowplain School full?
- The Cowplain School has capacity for 1,080 pupils and 993 on roll (92%), 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 Cowplain School a faith school?
- No. The Cowplain School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Cowplain School a selective school?
- No. The Cowplain School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Cowplain School part of an academy trust?
- The Cowplain School is part of THE COWPLAIN SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Cowplain School have?
- The schools register lists The Cowplain School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Cowplain School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.6 in 2022/23 and 39.6 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 Cowplain School compare with other schools in Hampshire?
- The Cowplain School ranked 50th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 37% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% 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 Cowplain School's absence rate?
- The Cowplain School's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Cowplain School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Cowplain 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.