Priestlands School, an 11-16 mixed comprehensive school, became an academy in August 2011.  Serving the South of the New Forest, our catchment area covers an area of outstanding beauty, stretching from Beaulieu in the East, to Brockenhurst in the North, and Milford-on-Sea at its most westerly point. To the South lies the Solent, one of the most popular sailing areas in the country. We serve eleven primary and junior schools, although our intake includes children from other schools, including a number of private schools. The school is well maintained, on a pleasant site and well equipped to meet the needs of the future.

Priestlands is a highly successful school with very good examination results, an excellent range of extra curricular activities and a strong ethos of good behaviour.  It is a great place to learn, a great place to work and we are proud of its many achievements.  We are committed to being a leading comprehensive school that serves the entire community, provides high quality education across the curriculum and has ambitious plans for its continued success and development. Our headline GCSE results and progress score consistently place us among the top schools in Hampshire and the New Forest and demonstrate that Priestlands is consistently delivering positive outcomes for all groups of students, year on year. Our most recent Ofsted report was published in February 2023.

We are proud of our academic record and believe all children are capable of making exceptional progress. We encourage them to embrace challenge, pursue excellence and to be resilient in overcoming obstacles. Above all we want to ignite in our students a love of learning which will serve them well throughout their lives.  

Education at this school is of the highest calibre.   We seek always to improve and to raise standards in all aspects of school life.  Our curriculum is rich, varied and challenging – and designed to equip each student with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for a successful and fulfilling adult life.  We know that our students enjoy the wide range of choice offered in academic subjects and the creative and expressive areas of school life. There are truly fantastic opportunities to specialise in all subjects and to enjoy the enrichment and extension offered across the school in Art, Drama, Music and Sport.  This is further developed by an outstanding range of extra-curricular activities and an extensive range of school trips.  Our happiest students and those who are most successful are those who throw themselves enthusiastically into all that we offer!

The school's approach to teaching and learning, the Priestlands Path to Progress, is modelled on the “Growth Mindset” philosophy.  In short, we want all of our students to be open to all of the new challenges they will face and take advantage of as many of the opportunities we offer as they can.  As our school motto, Learn more... Do more... Be more..., implies,  the more they learn and the more they do, the more they can become. 

At Priestlands we have high expectations of all of our students.  We want all students to be happy, safe and successful.  We understand achievement in the widest sense and we value student success in all aspects of their lives.  At the same time, we are determined that students should enjoy their time at school and secure good relationships with the school as a whole, the staff and each other.  We encourage all our students to develop a sense of values and responsibility for themselves and other people and aim to treat them as individuals, recognising and respecting individual needs, aptitudes, interests and aspirations.

In summary, our goal is to develop well rounded young people who have the skills and attributes to be successful in life and make a positive impact in our community.

We look forward to a happy and successful career for all who join us.

Peter Main

Headteacher