UK Schools
Ferndown Upper School
Ferndown Upper School is a mixed local-authority maintained secondary school in Ferndown, Dorset Council, teaching 1,134 pupils aged 13 to 19. Ofsted graded achievement as Strong standard at its most recent inspection in March 2026. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 45.7 (England 46.1). Term dates and holidays for 2025–2026 are listed below.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for Ferndown Upper School.
Scale: Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Ferndown Upper School.
Key dates (2025–2026)
- Autumn Term Starts Wednesday 3 September 2025 Term
- Autumn Half Term Monday 27 October 2025 - Friday 31 October 2025 Holiday
- Autumn Term Ends Friday 19 December 2025 Term
- Christmas Holiday Monday 22 December 2025 - Friday 2 January 2026 Holiday
- Spring Term Starts Monday 5 January 2026 Term
- Spring Half Term Monday 16 February 2026 - Friday 20 February 2026 Holiday
- Spring Term Ends Friday 27 March 2026 Term
- Easter Holiday Monday 30 March 2026 - Friday 10 April 2026 Holiday
- Summer Term Starts Monday 13 April 2026 Term
- Summer Half Term Monday 25 May 2026 - Friday 29 May 2026 Holiday
- Summer Term Ends Friday 17 July 2026 Term
- Summer Holiday Thursday 23 July 2026 - Friday 28 August 2026 Holiday
- Christmas Day (Bank Holiday) Thursday 25 December 2025 Holiday
- Boxing Day (Bank Holiday) Friday 26 December 2025 Holiday
- New Year's Day (Bank Holiday) Thursday 1 January 2026 Holiday
- Good Friday (Bank Holiday) Friday 3 April 2026 Holiday
- Easter Monday (Bank Holiday) Monday 6 April 2026 Holiday
- Early May Bank Holiday Monday 4 May 2026 Holiday
- Spring Bank Holiday Monday 25 May 2026 Holiday
- Summer Bank Holiday Monday 31 August 2026 Holiday
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Ferndown Upper School with Dorset Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 45.7 Attainment 8 score
Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.
This school Dorset Council England
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 33.76 A level average point score
Results for students finishing post-16 study.
This school Dorset Council England
Attendance 21.3% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Dorset Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 92% In education, apprenticeship or work
Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.
This school Dorset Council England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 82% In education, apprenticeship or work
Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.
This school Dorset Council England
About this data source & caveats
Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.
We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.
Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Ferndown Upper School. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.
Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Location & catchment area
Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Ferndown Upper School than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.