Ferndown Middle School
Peter Grant Way, Ferndown, BH22 9UP
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 9 to 13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SOUTHERN EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Grant Hopkins
- Sponsor
- Delta Education Trust
- Constituency
- Christchurch
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 600
- URN
- 148163
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01202876556
About this school
Ferndown Middle School is a middle academy in Ferndown. It teaches children aged 9 to 13 and has 600 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 21 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 151 | 153 | 152 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 56% | 45% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 2% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 74% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 64% | 61% | 66% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 72% | 61% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 101.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.90 | - | - |
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 Ferndown Middle 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 | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 45% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 595 |
| 2023/24 | 601 |
| 2024/25 | 613 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ferndown Middle School compares
Ferndown Middle School ranked 73rd of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45% | 6.7% | 20.9% | 600 | — |
| West Moors Middle School | 49% | 10.3% | 36.4% | 240 | 1.6 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill | 65% | 5.9% | 14.8% | 563 | 3.0 miles |
| Allenbourn Middle School | 68% | 6.3% | 18% | 499 | 3.8 miles |
| Broadstone Middle School | 55% | 8.2% | 17.7% | 542 | 4.6 miles |
| Emmanuel Church of England Middle School | 65% | 5.3% | 18.7% | 434 | 4.9 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)
- 20.88%
- English as an additional language
- 4.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.66%
- Persistent absence
- 17.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
West Moors Middle School1.6 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Ferndown
-
St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill3.0 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Wimborne
-
Allenbourn Middle School3.8 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Wimborne
-
Broadstone Middle School4.6 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Broadstone
-
Emmanuel Church of England Middle School4.9 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Verwood
Other schools in Ferndown
- West Moors Middle School Middle deemed secondary
- Ferndown First School Primary
- Oakhurst Community First School Primary
- Parley First School Primary
- St Mary's CofE First School & Nursery Primary
- Ferndown Upper School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ferndown Middle School teach?
- Ferndown Middle School teaches children aged 9 to 13. It is a middle school in Ferndown.
- Who is the headteacher of Ferndown Middle School?
- The headteacher of Ferndown Middle School is Mr Grant Hopkins, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ferndown Middle School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ferndown Middle 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 Ferndown Middle School?
- Ferndown Middle School has 600 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 13.
- Is Ferndown Middle School full?
- Ferndown Middle School has capacity for 600 pupils and 600 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Ferndown Middle School a faith school?
- No. Ferndown Middle School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Ferndown Middle School?
- Ferndown Middle School is part of SOUTHERN EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ferndown Middle School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 45% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ferndown Middle School rank locally?
- Ferndown Middle School ranked 73rd of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ferndown Middle School's absence rate?
- Ferndown Middle School's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ferndown Middle School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ferndown Middle 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 10 July 2026.