Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #18 in Dorset public Top 43% UK

Atlantic Academy Portland

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personPrincipal Lesley Bishop/ Melissa Heppell

corporate_fareASPIRATIONS ACADEMIES TRUST

location_onPortland, DT5 2NA

language Visit Website phone 1305820262

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2022

groups

Students

787

trending_up

Attainment 8

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GCSE Rank

#19 in Dorset

#3,068 of 3,216 nationally

summarize

Atlantic Academy Portland is a Academy sponsor led secondary school in Portland, serving ages 4-16. Rated Good by Ofsted.

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School Summary

Atlantic Academy Portland is an academy sponsor led in Portland, Dorset, admitting pupils aged 4-16. It is part of ASPIRATIONS ACADEMIES TRUST. The school has approximately 748 pupils on roll, of whom 35% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 34, placing the school #19 in Dorset and #3,068 of 3,216 nationally. 19.20% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths. 6.0% of all GCSE entries were graded 9–7.

In 2025, 64% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 8% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #23 of 19 primaries in Dorset and #6,563 of 3,216 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2022. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.8× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 17.2:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 19.5 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

analytics

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2025

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

19.20%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)6.0%

Entering EBacc32.10%

EBacc APS3.08

2024

Progress 8 Score

-0.74

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

38.9

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc37.80%

EBacc APS3.46

2023

Progress 8 Score

-0.80

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

43.7

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc22%

EBacc APS3.70

2022

Progress 8 Score

-0.96

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc34%

EBacc APS3.48

2021

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc31%

EBacc APS-

2019

Progress 8 Score

0.39

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

45.3

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc13%

EBacc APS3.62

2018

Progress 8 Score

0.23

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

44.6

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc5%

EBacc APS3.29

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

91%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)83%

Apprenticeships7%

Employment1%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)8%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

84%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)70%

Apprenticeships8%

Employment5%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)16%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

88%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)74%

Apprenticeships10%

Employment5%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)10%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

83%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)79%

Apprenticeships1%

Employment3%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)14%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

90%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)82%

Apprenticeships3%

Employment4%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)10%

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

64%

LA 54%

Reading72% LA 71%

Writing81% LA 67%

Maths69% LA 68%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

79%

LA 53%England 61%

Reading85% LA 72% · Eng 74%

Writing88% LA 66% · Eng 72%

Maths81% LA 65% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

65%

LA 53%England 60%

Reading78% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing85% LA 67% · Eng 71%

Maths77% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.7

Read

LA 0.0

-0.9 to 2.3

2.5

Write

LA -0.8

1.0 to 4.0

0.2

Maths

LA -1.3

-1.3 to 1.7

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

70%

LA 60%England 65%

Reading84% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Writing81% LA 75% · Eng 78%

Maths75% LA 74% · Eng 79%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

2.5

Read

LA -0.3

1.0 to 4.1

2.7

Write

LA -0.5

1.3 to 4.1

0.1

Maths

LA -1.1

-1.3 to 1.4

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

74%

LA 58%

Reading93% LA 73%

Writing82% LA 73%

Maths79% LA 69%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

5.2

Read

LA -0.3

3.7 to 6.7

Write

LA -0.5

1.6 to 4.4

1.6

Maths

LA -1.2

0.2 to 3

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

19 January 2022

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2022-01-19

Academy First Section 5 EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2016-11-29

S8 No Formal Designation Visit EIF

Inadequate

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Inadequate

2014-06-25

None EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

24.2%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

8.3%(62 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

1pupils

gavel Exclusion recorded

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 748 pupils. During this period, there were 181 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 24.2%, which is above the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	748	181	24.2%	7.3%	1
2024/25 (Autumn term)	746	110	14.7%	7.8%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	762	106	13.9%	7.4%	1
2023/24 (Spring term)	778	95	12.2%	7.1%	1
2023/24 (Autumn term)	785	117	14.9%	8.2%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	776	72	9.3%	6.6%	2
2022/23 (Spring term)	787	67	8.5%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	795	47	5.9%	5.9%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	775	60	7.7%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	780	33	4.2%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	787	55	7.0%	4.4%	1
2020/21 (Summer term)	768	53	6.9%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	764	8	1.0%	1.0%	1
2020/21 (Autumn term)	767	66	8.6%	3.9%	2
2019/20 (Summer term)	769	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	769	129	16.8%	3.2%	3
2019/20 (Autumn term)	771	185	24.0%	4.2%	4
2018/19 (Summer term)	811	145	17.9%	3.1%	2
2018/19 (Spring term)	811	129	15.9%	3.8%	2
2018/19 (Autumn term)	808	229	28.3%	3.8%	4
2017/18 (Summer term)	828	185	22.3%	3.4%	1
2017/18 (Spring term)	828	113	13.6%	3.0%	2
2017/18 (Autumn term)	833	107	12.8%	3.7%	2

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 90 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 79 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 56 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 20 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 12 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 10 pupils

Physical Disability 8 pupils

Hearing Impairment 3 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 3 pupils

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Atlantic Academy Portland

School Summary

Academic Performance

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

Student Destinations (After Secondary)

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Secondary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Secondary Schools in Dorset

The Woodroffe School

The Thomas Hardye School

Beaminster School

The Blandford School

Sturminster Newton High School

The Gryphon School