Alderwood School
Community school · 1,471 pupils
81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.2
Academy converter
The Costello School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,160of 1,120 places
- Free school meals
- 18.1%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 250
- Ofsted
- Report card, 10 February 2026Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Expected standardAchievement Expected standardAttendance and behaviour Expected standardPersonal development and wellbeing Expected standardInclusion Expected standardLeadership and governance Expected standardPost-16 provision Not applicableSafeguarding Met
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Costello Technology College (URN 116406, until 1 July 2012).
What the data says
The Costello School has no sixth form. Of the 224 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 57% moved to a sixth form college, 32% to a further education college and 4% started an apprenticeship.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 57% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.
German is unusually popular at GCSE: 21% of the year group took it, against 5% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 47.3 against 46.1 across England and 45.5 in Hampshire, with 50% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Hampshire and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Costello School | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 224 | 14,028 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 94% | 92% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 89% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 6% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 57% | 40% | 13% |
| — further education college | 32% | 38% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 1% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 5% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Costello School | Hampshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 47.3 | 45.5 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 45% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 65% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 81% | 34% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.49 | 4.02 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 15% | 21% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 36.9 | 30.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 49.2 | 49.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 16% | 8% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 248 | 99% | 89% | 25% | 20% | 73% |
| Mathematics | 247 | 99% | 88% | 22% | 22% | 75% |
| English Literature | 242 | 97% | 86% | 23% | 21% | 76% |
| Combined Science | 196 | 78% | 65% | 10% | 9% | 63% |
| Geography | 148 | 59% | 41% | 18% | 25% | 63% |
| Business Studies | 101 | 40% | 18% | 23% | 20% | 68% |
| History | 94 | 38% | 41% | 28% | 26% | 61% |
| Spanish | 81 | 32% | 19% | 11% | 27% | 60% |
| French | 65 | 26% | 18% | 15% | 29% | 63% |
| German | 53 | 21% | 5% | 9% | 33% | 60% |
| Psychology | 49 | 20% | 3% | 14% | 22% | 63% |
| Computer Science | 49 | 20% | 13% | 14% | 30% | 57% |
| Chemistry | 44 | 18% | 23% | 48% | 47% | 100% |
| Biology | 44 | 18% | 23% | 45% | 45% | 100% |
| Physics | 44 | 18% | 23% | 50% | 46% | 100% |
| Design and Technology | 38 | 15% | 11% | 21% | 23% | 66% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 35 | 14% | 8% | 11% | 21% | 26% |
| Fine Art | 24 | 10% | 9% | 4% | 28% | 58% |
| Music | 17 | 7% | 5% | 29% | 33% | 65% |
| Photography | 15 | 6% | 6% | 0% | 19% | 47% |
| Media Studies | 14 | 6% | 4% | 21% | 20% | 50% |
| Drama | 13 | 5% | 7% | 23% | 27% | 54% |
| Religious Studies | 13 | 5% | 31% | 38% | 32% | 69% |
| Dance | 9 | 4% | 1% | 0% | 27% | 44% |
| Polish | 8 | 3% | 1% | 88% | 84% | 88% |
| Turkish | 3 | 1% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Chinese | 3 | 1% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Russian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Japanese | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Modern Greek | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 33% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beauty Care / Services | 29 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 24 | — | — |
| Personal Health | 23 | — | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 22 | — | — |
| Childcare Skills | 11 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Hampshire
Amery Hill School
Academy converter · 982 pupils
93% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.0
Applemore College
Foundation school · 478 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 36.7
Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School
Voluntary aided school · 894 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 59.3
Bohunt School
Academy converter · sixth form · 2,012 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 56.3
Bridgemary School
Academy sponsor led · 814 pupils
78% stayed in education · Attainment 8 33.8
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.