Gatcombe Park Primary School
St Barbara Way, Hilsea, Portsmouth, PO2 0UR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HAMWIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ben Simpson
- Sponsor
- Hamwic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Portsmouth North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 203
- URN
- 141728
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02392694412
About this school
Gatcombe Park Primary School is a primary academy in Portsmouth. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 203 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
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
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 47% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 77% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 60% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 60% | 50% | 80% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Gatcombe Park Primary 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 | Portsmouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57% | 48% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 47% | 48.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 51.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 209 |
| 2023/24 | 210 |
| 2024/25 | 208 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Gatcombe Park Primary School compares
Gatcombe Park Primary School ranked 11th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 4.2% | 26.4% | 203 | — |
| King's Academy Northern Parade (Junior) | 48% | 5.7% | 39.5% | 352 | 0.3 miles |
| King's Academy Northern Parade (Infant) | — | 5.4% | 23.3% | 231 | 0.3 miles |
| Highbury Primary School | 63% | 4.8% | 26.5% | 391 | 0.7 miles |
| King's Academy College Park (Junior) | 52% | 5.2% | 31.3% | 434 | 0.7 miles |
| King's Academy College Park (Infant) | — | 4.9% | 15.7% | 304 | 0.8 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)
- 26.44%
- English as an additional language
- 11.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.17%
- Persistent absence
- 5.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
King's Academy Northern Parade (Junior)0.3 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
King's Academy Northern Parade (Infant)0.3 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Highbury Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
King's Academy College Park (Junior)0.7 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
King's Academy College Park (Infant)0.8 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
Other schools in Portsmouth
Gatcombe Park Primary School ranks 10th of the 28 ranked primary schools in Portsmouth.
- Ark Ayrton Primary Academy Primary
- Ark Dickens Primary Academy Primary
- Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery Primary
- Beacon View Primary Academy Primary
- Copnor Primary School Primary
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Primary
- Court Lane Infant Academy Primary
- Court Lane Junior Academy Primary
- Highbury Primary School Primary
- King's Academy College Park (Infant) Primary
- King's Academy College Park (Junior) Primary
- King's Academy Northern Parade (Infant) Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Gatcombe Park Primary School teach?
- Gatcombe Park Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Portsmouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Gatcombe Park Primary School?
- The headteacher of Gatcombe Park Primary School is Ben Simpson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Gatcombe Park Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Gatcombe Park Primary 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 Gatcombe Park Primary School?
- Gatcombe Park Primary School has 203 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Gatcombe Park Primary School full?
- Gatcombe Park Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 203 on roll (97%), 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 Gatcombe Park Primary School a faith school?
- No. Gatcombe Park Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Gatcombe Park Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Gatcombe Park Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Gatcombe Park Primary School?
- Gatcombe Park Primary 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 Gatcombe Park Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 57% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Gatcombe Park Primary School rank locally?
- Gatcombe Park Primary School ranked 11th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Gatcombe Park Primary School's absence rate?
- Gatcombe Park Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Gatcombe Park Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Gatcombe Park Primary 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.