Hillside Community First School
Hillside Road, Verwood, BH31 7HE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- INITIO LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr David Graves
- Sponsor
- Wimborne Academy Trust
- Constituency
- North Dorset
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 221
- URN
- 146690
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01202822737
About this school
Hillside Community First School is a primary academy in Verwood. It teaches children aged 4 to 9 and has 221 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Hillside Community First 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 May 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.
Trends over time
How Hillside Community First 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 206 |
| 2023/24 | 212 |
| 2024/25 | 206 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hillside Community First School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 4.5% | 17.5% | 221 | — |
| Trinity Church of England First School | — | 4.9% | 12.8% | 128 | 0.4 miles |
| Verwood Church of England First School | — | 4.3% | 6.3% | 289 | 0.9 miles |
| Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School | — | 7.8% | 20.7% | 84 | 2.0 miles |
| St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt | — | 4.6% | 16.9% | 125 | 2.8 miles |
| Cranborne Church of England First School | — | 4.2% | 15.4% | 73 | 3.3 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)
- 17.48%
- English as an additional language
- 1%
- Overall absence
- 4.53%
- Persistent absence
- 9.94%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Trinity Church of England First School0.4 miles
Primary · Verwood
-
Verwood Church of England First School0.9 miles
Primary · Verwood
-
Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School2.0 miles
Primary · Wimborne
-
St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt2.8 miles
Primary · Fordingbridge
-
Cranborne Church of England First School3.3 miles
Primary · Wimborne
Other schools in Verwood
- Trinity Church of England First School Primary
- Verwood Church of England First School Primary
- Emmanuel Church of England Middle School Middle deemed secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Hillside Community First School teach?
- Hillside Community First School teaches children aged 4 to 9. It is a primary school in Verwood.
- Who is the headteacher of Hillside Community First School?
- The headteacher of Hillside Community First School is Mr David Graves, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Hillside Community First School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hillside Community First 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 Hillside Community First School?
- Hillside Community First School has 221 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 9.
- Is Hillside Community First School full?
- Hillside Community First School has capacity for 240 pupils and 221 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 Hillside Community First School a faith school?
- No. Hillside Community First School has no designated religious character.
- Does Hillside Community First School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Hillside Community First School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Hillside Community First School part of an academy trust?
- Hillside Community First School is part of INITIO LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What is Hillside Community First School's absence rate?
- Hillside Community First School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Hillside Community First School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Hillside Community First School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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.