A council (local authority) in the South East
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are below England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Isle of Wight at a glance
How Isle of Wight's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
36 mainstream schools in Isle of Wight, best first
Results above the England average.
65 first choices, 58 offers made
Met the standard at 1167%
England 62%
Results close to the England average.
66 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1162%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
45 first choices, 29 offers made
Met the standard at 1173%
England 62%
6 mainstream schools in Isle of Wight, best first
Results close to the England average.
204 first choices, 111 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.8
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
175 first choices, 202 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1642.5
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
272 first choices, 265 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1643.2
England 46.2
34 in Isle of Wight, highest Ofsted grade first
Sandown, PO36 9PE · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Newport, PO30 5QT · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Cowes, PO31 8DS · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
8 in Isle of Wight, by the school's Eduscope score
Results below the England average.
175 first choices, 202 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1642.5
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
272 first choices, 265 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1643.2
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
236 first choices, 230 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1642.3
England 46.2
4 in Isle of Wight. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Sandown, PO36 9AZ · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Newport Isle of Wight, PO30 2HS · Special · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Ventnor, PO38 1TT · Special · All-through · Ages 7 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
3 in Isle of Wight. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Sandown, PO36 9AZ · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Whippingham, PO32 6LP · Independent · All-through · Ages 4 to 18
Independent school. Results well above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1655.4
England 46.2
Ryde, PO33 3BE · Independent · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Isle of Wight is a unitary authority in the South East with 36 mainstream primary schools and 6 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Newport (Isle of Wight), Ryde and Cowes. The council still runs or maintains most state schools here: only 23% are academies or free schools.
From Isle of Wight council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: school.admissions@iow.gov.uk
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
94.5%got their first-choice primary school in Isle of Wight in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 46 of 151 councils. 98.8% got one of their top three.0.2% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
83.4%got their first-choice secondary school in Isle of Wight in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 81 of 151 councils. 94.3% got one of their top three.0.2% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
4 of 12 primary appeals heard in Isle of Wight succeeded in 2025. 11 of 26 secondary appeals heard in Isle of Wight succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Isle of Wight school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 28 inspected are Good or better.
34nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
96% Good or better. 51% met the standard at 11.
41schools
Ages 11 to 16
4 Good, 2 need to improve. 34% got grade 5 in English and maths.
13schools
All 4 inspected are Good or better. About 7 pupils per teacher.
4schools
Here's how Isle of Wight's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Isle of Wight average, 34.
Average primary score
35Isle of Wight 34
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
Isle of WightEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 26 primaries with one.
96%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
4 of the 6 with a grade.
67%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
51%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
34%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
22%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
25%
Latest graded inspection for the 35 schools that have one.
91%
Good or Outstanding
Isle of Wight in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Isle of Wight | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 91% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 51% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 38.9 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 22% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.5:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,236 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 91% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 43% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 25% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 5% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 26% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 921, ONS code E06000046.
Isle of Wight has 84 schools and nurseries across 4 towns and villages, the biggest being Newport (Isle of Wight), Ryde, Cowes and Sandown.
There are 3% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
25% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Isle of Wight's state schools each January.
Up 3% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Isle of Wight25%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Isle of Wight has 84 schools, including 41 primary schools, 13 secondary schools, 34 nurseries, 3 independent schools, 4 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Isle of Wight on Eduscope are Nine Acres Primary School, Gurnard Primary School, The Island Free School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
91% of inspected schools in Isle of Wight hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 1 school rated Outstanding and 31 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Isle of Wight, 51% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Isle of Wight is 17.5:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Isle of Wight is 22.3%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 15,745 pupils enrolled across schools in Isle of Wight, with 8,062 in primary and 7,683 in secondary. 25.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 3 independent schools in Isle of Wight. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Isle of Wight on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 84 schools in Isle of Wight by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
