Clay Hill School, Lyndhurst
Clay Hill School is a special school for pupils aged 5 to 19 in Lyndhurst. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in October 2024.
- Ofsted
- Good (2024)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Clay Hill School in detail
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Clay Hill School are Coxlease School (0.3 miles, Good); New Forest Alternative Provision (3.8 miles); Forest Park School (5.1 miles, Good); and GLADE School (5.4 miles, Good).
Coxlease SchoolNew Forest Alternative ProvisionForest Park SchoolGLADE School
What parents say
16 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Clay Hill School (as of September 2025): 88% would recommend the school, 88% say their child is happy there and 67% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school supports their child's wider development (88%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (67%).
Who goes there
Almost every pupil at Clay Hill School has an education, health and care plan (52 of 52 in 2026).
Clay Hill School is approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014, so parents can ask for it to be named in their child's education, health and care (EHC) plan.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Ashurst New Forest Rail Station, about 2.8 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Crown Stirrup (n-bound), 60 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 17 crimes within a mile of the school, most often criminal damage and arson, violence and sexual offences and anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Hampshire (72).
Sources: Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Safeguarding: effective
Independent school standards
Met all the independent school standards.
- Part 1: quality of educationMet
- Part 2: pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural developmentMet
- Part 3: welfare, health and safetyMet
- Part 4: suitability of staff and proprietorsMet
- Part 5: premises and accommodationMet
- Part 6: information for parentsMet
- Part 7: handling of complaintsMet
- Part 8: leadership and managementMet
Source: Ofsted, non-association independent schools inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils are positive about their school. They are proud of what they are achieving. They feel safe here and have strong opinions about the world around them. Older pupils are keen to share their views with visitors, not afraid to hold back when sharing their thoughts about previous settings. One pupil's view that, ''Mostly everyone relates to you here, so you don't have to mask anything, because everyone just gets it, so you can be yourself, truly', met with blanket approval by other pupils. Loyalty to your peers, to staff and to the school itself, means something here.
Pupils' behaviour is largely excellent, though not perfect all the time. Periods of high anxiety are managed well by all because partnerships are trusting and staff are skilled at heading off problems. Because of this, classrooms are purposeful and productive places.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
This is a school where pupils, most of whom have often been out of education for long periods of time before joining, are now thriving. Staff offer a kind and nurturing environment. Nevertheless, the expectations of what each individual pupil can achieve, both in and out of the classroom, are high. Parents and carers acknowledge this. The very large majority who replied to Ofsted Parent View or communicated directly with inspectors have very positive views about the quality of care and education the school is providing.
Leaders at all levels benefit from a range of support from the proprietor company's central team of experts. This includes in such areas as human resources, finance and safeguarding. Oversight of the quality of education is also a top priority for the proprietor, with a successful system of quality assurance and compliance fully in place. As a result, the school continues to meet the requirements of the independent school standards and schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.
From Ofsted's October 2024 inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its October 2024 inspection.
Rated Outstanding for
Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Leadership & management.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Approved
Section 41
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
16 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Keep up with Clay Hill School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 1
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Hampshire is 9 (the median across 617 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
93%
Near capacity
52 pupils
56 places
4 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Lyndhurst
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Lyndhurst
Across Hampshire council
Places available
15,392
Applications
13,874
Got 1st preference
90.1%
Got preferred school
97.6%
All secondary applications across Hampshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(4)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
52
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Clay Hill School is approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014, so parents can ask for it to be named in their child's education, health and care (EHC) plan.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
No need-level breakdown available
Pupil Demographics
Key Indicators
52
Total Pupils
40
Boys
12
Girls
2026 academic year
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Clay Hill School
Questions parents ask about Clay Hill School
What are GCSE results like at Clay Hill School?
The Department for Education's GCSE measures do not count IGCSEs, which many independent schools take instead of GCSEs, so the Attainment 8 and English and maths figures it publishes for Clay Hill School can understate its results. We do not rank or compare them; ask the school for its own GCSE and IGCSE results.
What is Clay Hill School's Ofsted rating?
Clay Hill School was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in October 2024.
Does Clay Hill School meet the independent school standards?
At its most recent standard inspection, in October 2024, Clay Hill School met all the independent school standards.
How many pupils go to Clay Hill School?
Clay Hill School has around 52 pupils on roll.
Does Clay Hill School have specialist SEN provision?
Clay Hill School is approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014, so parents can ask for it to be named in their child's education, health and care (EHC) plan.
How do I apply to Clay Hill School?
Clay Hill School is an independent school and runs its own admissions rather than going through the local authority. Contact the school directly for entry requirements, assessment dates, fees and any bursaries.
How many road collisions happen near Clay Hill School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Hampshire is 9 (the median across 617 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Clay Hill School?
Clay Hill School is at Clay Hill, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, SO43 7DE.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)