Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery
Chivers Close, Southsea, PO5 1HG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- GATEWAY MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Lee Branscombe
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Gateway Multi Academic Trust
- Constituency
- Portsmouth South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 462
- URN
- 148709
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02392341133
About this school
Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery is a primary academy in Southsea. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 462 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery, 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
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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- 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 | 56 | 55 | 55 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 39% | 45% | 53% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 2% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 57% | 76% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 54% | 75% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 75% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.60 | - | - |
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 Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery 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 | 39% | 48% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 45% | 48.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 51.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 447 |
| 2023/24 | 479 |
| 2024/25 | 477 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery compares
Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery ranked 20th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53% | 5.5% | 46% | 462 | — |
| Ark Ayrton Primary Academy | 78% | 6.2% | 63.3% | 495 | 0.4 miles |
| Southsea Infant School | — | 5.7% | 16.4% | 167 | 0.5 miles |
| St Jude's CofE Primary School | 53% | 5.1% | 29.7% | 407 | 0.5 miles |
| Bramble Infant School and Nursery | — | 4.9% | 16.1% | 162 | 0.6 miles |
| St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School | 83% | 3.4% | 30.1% | 237 | 0.6 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)
- 45.96%
- English as an additional language
- 53.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.52%
- Persistent absence
- 14.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ark Ayrton Primary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Southsea Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Southsea
-
St Jude's CofE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Bramble Infant School and Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Southsea
-
St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
Other schools in Southsea
- Bramble Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Craneswater Junior School Primary
- Cumberland Infant School Primary
- Devonshire Infant School Primary
- Fernhurst Junior School Primary
- Meon Infant School Primary
- Moorings Way Infant School Primary
- Southsea Infant School Primary
- St Swithun's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Ark Charter Academy Secondary
- Priory School Secondary
- Mayville High School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery teach?
- Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Southsea.
- Who is the headteacher of Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery?
- The headteacher of Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery is Mr Lee Branscombe, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery, 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 Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery?
- Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery has 462 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery full?
- Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery has capacity for 450 pupils and 462 on roll (103%), 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 Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery a faith school?
- No. Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery has no designated religious character.
- Does Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery as having nursery classes.
- Is Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery part of an academy trust?
- Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery is part of GATEWAY MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 39% in 2022/23 and 53% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery compare with other schools in Portsmouth?
- Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery ranked 20th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery's absence rate?
- Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery'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.