Ferndown Upper School
Secondary · Community school · Mixed · Dorset
Cherry Grove, Ferndown, BH22 9EY
69
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
School remains Good
No graded inspection
Application demand
—
No council data
Attendance
91.9%
21.3% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,134
Capacity used
Nearly full99%
1,146 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Details
- Type
- Community school
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 13–19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Philip Jones
- Address
- Cherry Grove, Ferndown, BH22 9EY
- Phone
- 01202871243
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward / constituency
- Ferndown North · Christchurch
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 113854
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 21% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 6% | — | — |
| SEN support | 12% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 2 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
1,134 pupils · 1,146 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 26
03 March 2026
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Strong standard Achievement Strong standard Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Attendance and behaviour Strong standard Leadership and governance Strong standard Early years Not applicable Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard Post-16 provision Expected standard - 21
08 December 2021
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 868 pupils
Attendance
91.9%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.1%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
21.3%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
4.3%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.3%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 48.3 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.34 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 50% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 74% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.72 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 31.65 | — | — |
Average grade: C (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 45.7 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 45.4% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 70.3% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 12.4% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.53 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 249 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 33.76 | 35 |
| Average grade | C+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 10% | 17% |
| A-level students | 113 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 243 | 13% | 50% | 72% | |
| Mathematics | 242 | 21% | 56% | 79% | |
| English Literature | 237 | 15% | 53% | 72% | |
| Biology | 236 | 11% | 44% | 64% | |
| Chemistry | 234 | 12% | 41% | 59% | |
| Physics | 233 | 13% | 48% | 64% | |
| Business | 119 | 13% | 43% | 61% | |
| Art and Design | 108 | 13% | 60% | 81% | |
| Religious Studies | 89 | 18% | 51% | 63% | |
| History | 70 | 21% | 59% | 67% | |
| Design & Technology | 55 | 4% | 38% | 58% | |
| Geography | 47 | 15% | 49% | 64% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 34 | 3% | 15% | 32% | |
| Mathematics | 32 | 13% | 38% | 69% | |
| English Language | 31 | 6% | 13% | 32% | |
| Physics | 27 | 7% | 11% | 41% | |
| Sociology | 15 | 0% | 20% | 60% | |
| Biology | 14 | 14% | 14% | 36% | |
| Fine Art | 13 | 15% | 31% | 85% | |
| Design and Technology (Product Design) | 11 | 0% | 0% | 45% | |
| Photography | 10 | 20% | 30% | 70% | |
| Chemistry | 9 | 11% | 33% | 44% | |
| Business Studies | 9 | 11% | 11% | 44% | |
| History | 8 | 25% | 38% | 63% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 14531: Ferndown Upper School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | ≤5 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | ≤5 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 34% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 11% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 46% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Dorset council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.