The Portsmouth Academy, Portsmouth

From the headteacher's welcome: "To help keep all pupils safe, please ensure the school has up-to-date information about any allergies your child may have. Accurate allergy information enables us to put appropriate support plans in place, train staff effectively, and respond quickly in an emergency."

On phones, the school says: "Phone Pouches at The Portsmouth Academy, The Portsmouth Academy Friday 2nd October: INSET Day, School closed to all students Allergy Awareness: To help keep all pupils safe, please ensure the school has up-to-date information about any allergies your child may have."

In 2026, pupils at The Portsmouth Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 34.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 41.2 in Portsmouth and 47 across England.

24% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 36% in Portsmouth and 47% in England.

That is up from 33.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -1.1: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 29.2, against 40.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 117 families put The Portsmouth Academy as their first choice and 409 named it as one of their preferences, for 212 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The Portsmouth Academy are St Edmund's Catholic School (0.6 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 56); Priory School (0.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.4); Miltoncross Academy (0.7 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 35.8); and Ark Charter Academy (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.9).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than The Portsmouth Academy.

The Portsmouth Academy is one of 26 schools run by The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.9 in 2024/25.

Of the 219 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 82% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 78% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

56% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 31.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (52%), Asian (17%) and Black (10%).

The Portsmouth Academy has a SEN unit for moderate learning difficulties: 16 places, 18 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Fratton Rail Station, about 860 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Shearer Road (e-bound), 200 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Portsmouth Academy stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 1079 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Portsmouth (499), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, The Portsmouth Academy issued 1091 suspensions, 87.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The Portsmouth Academy are Manor Infant and Nursery School (0.2 miles), Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery (0.4 miles), Ark Dickens Primary Academy (0.4 miles) and Penbridge Infant School (0.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.