The Island Free School
Newport Road, Ventnor, PO38 1BG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ISLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL
- Headmaster
- Mr Steph Boyd
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Isle of Wight East
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 625
- Pupils on roll
- 613
- URN
- 140691
- Local authority
- Isle of Wight
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01983857641
About this school
The Island Free School is a secondary academy in Ventnor. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 613 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 15 June 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 124 | 122 | 121 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.4 | 49.1 | 51.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.28 +0.02 to +0.53 | +0.24 -0.02 to +0.49 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 60% | 50.8% | 56.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 78% | 73.8% | 72.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 98% | 92.6% | 93.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.8 |
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 Island Free 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 | Isle of Wight average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.4 | 36.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.1 | 35.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51 | 37.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 622 |
| 2023/24 | 623 |
| 2024/25 | 619 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Island Free School compares
The Island Free School ranked 1st of 7 secondary schools in Isle of Wight for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 79% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51 | 6.9% | 20.4% | 613 | — |
| Christ The King College | 44.8 | 10.3% | 27.8% | 1,131 | 7.7 miles |
| Carisbrooke College | 41.4 | 9.4% | 25.8% | 615 | 7.9 miles |
| Medina College | 35.2 | 14.8% | 35.8% | 1,094 | 8.2 miles |
| Lift Ryde | 43.8 | 10.3% | 27.6% | 1,461 | 8.7 miles |
| St Francis Catholic and Church of England Primary Academy | — | 4.3% | 38.6% | 161 | 0.1 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)
- 20.36%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.89%
- Persistent absence
- 18.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Christ The King College7.7 miles
Secondary · Newport
-
Carisbrooke College7.9 miles
Secondary · Newport
-
Medina College8.2 miles
Secondary · Newport
-
Lift Ryde8.7 miles
Secondary · Ryde
-
St Francis Catholic and Church of England Primary Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Ventnor
Other schools in Ventnor
- Godshill Primary School Primary
- Niton Primary School Primary
- St Francis Catholic and Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Wroxall Primary School Primary
- St Catherine's School and College Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Island Free School teach?
- The Island Free School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Ventnor.
- Who is the headmaster of The Island Free School?
- The headmaster of The Island Free School is Mr Steph Boyd, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Island Free School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Island Free 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 big is The Island Free School?
- The Island Free School has 613 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Island Free School full?
- The Island Free School has capacity for 625 pupils and 613 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Island Free School a faith school?
- No. The Island Free School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Island Free School a selective school?
- No. The Island Free School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Island Free School?
- The Island Free School is part of ISLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Island Free School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.4 in 2022/23 and 51 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 Island Free School rank locally?
- The Island Free School ranked 1st of 7 secondary schools in Isle of Wight for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 79% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% 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 Island Free School's absence rate?
- The Island Free School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Island Free School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Island Free 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.