Atlantic Academy Portland
Maritime House, Southwell Park, Portland, DT5 2NA
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ASPIRATIONS ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Principal Melissa Heppell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Aspirations Academies Trust
- Constituency
- South Dorset
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,020
- Pupils on roll
- 769
- URN
- 145119
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01305820262
About this school
Atlantic Academy Portland is an all-through academy in Portland. It teaches children aged 4 to 16 and has 769 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Atlantic Academy Portland, 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
- 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 | 60 | 52 | 36 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 79% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 12% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 85% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 81% | 69% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 73% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.20 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 87 | 90 | 78 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.7 | 38.9 | 34.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.80 -1.10 to -0.50 | -0.74 -1.04 to -0.45 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 25% | 24.4% | 19.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 50% | 38.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 22% | 37.8% | 32.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
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 Atlantic Academy Portland has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 79% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.7 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.9 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 34 | 35.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 787 |
| 2023/24 | 778 |
| 2024/25 | 748 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Atlantic Academy Portland compares
Atlantic Academy Portland ranked 19th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 25% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 34 | 9% | 34.6% | 769 | — |
| St George's Foundation Primary School | — | 5.8% | 26.2% | 406 | 1.1 miles |
| Wyke Regis Church of England Junior School | — | 7% | 32.4% | 340 | 4.6 miles |
| Wyke Regis Infant School and Nursery | — | 6.8% | 28.4% | 220 | 4.7 miles |
| All Saints' Church of England Academy | 35.6 | 12.8% | 35.2% | 598 | 4.7 miles |
| Holy Trinity Church of England VC Primary School & Community Nursery | — | 5.5% | 35.9% | 471 | 5.0 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)
- 34.63%
- English as an additional language
- 2.5%
- Overall absence
- 9.02%
- Persistent absence
- 22.22%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St George's Foundation Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Portland
-
Wyke Regis Church of England Junior School4.6 miles
Primary · Weymouth
-
Wyke Regis Infant School and Nursery4.7 miles
Primary · Weymouth
-
All Saints' Church of England Academy4.7 miles
Secondary · Weymouth
-
Holy Trinity Church of England VC Primary School & Community Nursery5.0 miles
Primary · Weymouth
Other schools in Portland
Common questions
- What ages does Atlantic Academy Portland teach?
- Atlantic Academy Portland teaches children aged 4 to 16. It is an all-through school in Portland.
- Who is the headteacher of Atlantic Academy Portland?
- The headteacher of Atlantic Academy Portland is Principal Melissa Heppell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Atlantic Academy Portland been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Atlantic Academy Portland, 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 Atlantic Academy Portland?
- Atlantic Academy Portland has 769 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 16.
- Is Atlantic Academy Portland full?
- Atlantic Academy Portland has capacity for 1,020 pupils and 769 on roll (75%), 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 Atlantic Academy Portland a faith school?
- No. Atlantic Academy Portland has no designated religious character.
- Is Atlantic Academy Portland a selective school?
- No. Atlantic Academy Portland is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Atlantic Academy Portland have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Atlantic Academy Portland as having no nursery classes.
- Is Atlantic Academy Portland part of an academy trust?
- Atlantic Academy Portland is part of ASPIRATIONS ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Atlantic Academy Portland's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 64% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Atlantic Academy Portland compare with other schools in Dorset?
- Atlantic Academy Portland ranked 19th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 25% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Atlantic Academy Portland's absence rate?
- Atlantic Academy Portland's overall absence rate is 9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Atlantic Academy Portland's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Atlantic Academy Portland'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 10 July 2026.