Hollywater School, Bordon

Ofsted's report card from its 7 July 2026 inspection grades Hollywater School on 8 areas: 2 expected standard and 6 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders prioritise and celebrate attendance."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders place a high value on supporting pupils' personal development."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Some pupils across the year groups and pathways do not make the progress they could through the curriculum."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Although leaders have begun to introduce improvements, pupils do not always receive the high-quality interactions and teaching they need to make progress through the curriculum."

Early years - Needs attention. "The quality of teaching in early years is too variable."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "While leaders have taken appropriate action to improve classroom adaptations and the use of communication strategies, there is still too much variation in the quality of these."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "While leaders' recent actions provide a clear direction for improvement, they have not yet secured the consistently high-quality educational experiences that leaders intend for pupils."

Post-16 provision - Needs attention. "Students in the sixth form do not achieve as well as they could."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that there is coherent oversight of inclusion, so that pupils' needs are accurately identified and met and leaders are able to effectively evaluate the impact of their work"; "Leaders should ensure that their strategies to improve how well students can access the curriculum, specifically being supported to develop appropriate communication skills, are embedded across the school from early years through to post-16"; "Leaders should ensure that staff develop their expertise to consistently deliver the intended curriculum to meet pupils' complex learning needs effectively, across the school"; "Leaders and governors must develop a robust understanding of their roles and responsibilities and ensure that oversight results in improvements being enacted swiftly".

In its own words: "Our Motto is: Inspire . Believe.Achieve . We set high standards of work and achieve this through providing a curriculum that also develops children's belief that they can achieve their highest aspiration, while working closely with parents and the whole community."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Hollywater is a Community Special School catering for approximately 160 students, who have complex learning difficulties across the age range from 4 to 19 years. We have a wide range of specialist facilities including a Forest School site, immersive suite, hydro pool and Food Technology room."

Coming up: an open day on Thursday 5 November 2026 and an open day on Wednesday 11 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

The nearest other special schools to Hollywater School are Miniland Farm (1.2 miles); The Green Room School Kingsley (2.1 miles, Outstanding); Pathways Education (4 miles, Good); and More House School (4.9 miles, Outstanding).

Of the 19 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 90% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 47% to a further education college.

40% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 10.6% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (77%), Asian (9%) and Mixed (6%).

Almost every pupil at Hollywater School has an education, health and care plan (160 of 160 in 2026). The most common need among them is a severe learning difficulty.

Hollywater School provides for pupils with visual impairment, other difficulties or disabilities, hearing impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism, physical disability, moderate learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties.

The nearest railway station is Liphook Rail Station, about 3.5 miles away in a straight line.

2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Elderberry Road (opposite), 280 metres away.

In 2024/25, Hollywater School issued 30 suspensions, 20.8 for every 100 pupils, and no permanent exclusions.