Carisbrooke College
Academy converter · 615 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.4
Free schools
The Island Free School
- Pupils on roll
- 613of 625 places
- Free school meals
- 21.9%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 121
- Ofsted
- School remains Good, 15 June 2023Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
The Island Free School has no sixth form. Of the 124 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 3% moved to a sixth form college, 48% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
Media Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 26% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 51.0 against 46.1 across England and 41.5 in Isle of Wight, with 56% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, The Island Free School is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
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 Isle of Wight and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Island Free School | Isle of Wight | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 124 | 1,248 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 96% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 92% | 89% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 35% | 35% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 3% | 1% | 13% |
| — further education college | 48% | 50% | 37% |
| — other education | 6% | 4% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 3% | 4% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Island Free School | Isle of Wight | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 51.0 | 41.5 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% | 37% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 59% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 93% | 36% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.78 | 3.56 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 19% | 24% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 41.5 | 30.4 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 53.2 | 45.0 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 2% | 6% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 121 | 100% | 88% | 26% | 22% | 84% |
| English Literature | 121 | 100% | 86% | 21% | 21% | 70% |
| English Language | 121 | 100% | 89% | 23% | 20% | 72% |
| Combined Science | 98 | 81% | 65% | 6% | 9% | 67% |
| Geography | 70 | 58% | 41% | 23% | 25% | 61% |
| Spanish | 68 | 56% | 19% | 13% | 27% | 43% |
| History | 51 | 42% | 41% | 39% | 26% | 82% |
| Latin | 44 | 36% | 1% | 16% | 74% | 50% |
| Physical Education | 35 | 29% | 11% | 11% | 24% | 63% |
| Media Studies | 31 | 26% | 4% | 32% | 20% | 87% |
| Computer Science | 30 | 25% | 13% | 10% | 30% | 63% |
| Art and Design | 29 | 24% | 7% | 45% | 24% | 100% |
| Geology | 24 | 20% | 0% | 42% | 61% | 83% |
| Chemistry | 23 | 19% | 23% | 26% | 47% | 96% |
| Physics | 23 | 19% | 23% | 35% | 46% | 96% |
| Biology | 23 | 19% | 23% | 26% | 45% | 96% |
| Music | 22 | 18% | 5% | 18% | 33% | 68% |
| Drama | 21 | 17% | 7% | 19% | 27% | 71% |
| Photography | 20 | 17% | 6% | 40% | 19% | 85% |
| Dance | 9 | 7% | 1% | 11% | 27% | 78% |
| French | 1 | 1% | 18% | — | 29% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
Other secondary schools in Isle of Wight
Christ The King College
Voluntary aided school · sixth form · 1,131 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.8
Cowes Enterprise College, An Ormiston Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,156 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.7
Lift Ryde
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,461 pupils
88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.8
Medina College
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,094 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.2
The Bay Church of England School
Voluntary controlled school · 1,232 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.3
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.