Admiral Lord Nelson School is a mixed co-educational secondary school in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, Hampshire, England. The school, located on the eastern side of Portsmouth on Dundas Lane, opposite Ocean
retail park
A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. Retail parks form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, ...
and running parallel to the Eastern Road, is situated next to
Langstone Harbour, and was constructed on a
green field site.
Named after
Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
,
admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
and hero of the British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
, with which it has already built ties, it was established in 1995 and specialises in Business and Enterprise to provide education for 11- to 16-year-old students. On opening it had an initial attendance of 170-year 7 students, which has subsequently grown substantially to around 1000. During this time, it has forged partnerships with the local business community.
Facilities

Along with another Portsmouth
state school
A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...
,
Milton Cross, Admiral Lord Nelson School is currently one of only two fully
accessible schools in the city; providing numerous
lifts for disabled students. The building also has several small two-wheeled trolleys for transporting disabled students up and down stairs during accidents and emergencies.
Sporting facilities include an outdoor all weather full size
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for pitch (sports field), playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a pile (textile), short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Si ...
pitch and multi-use game area and an indoor fitness studio, these facilities along with a sports hall and a dance studio have become a useful asset to the wider community, as part of the Community Improvement Partnership in the city of Portsmouth.
Ofsted and governance
The 2017
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...
Inspection awarded the school a rating of 2 ("Good") in a scale of 1 to 4, excellent to inadequate respectively.
The founding headteacher, Dianne Smith, was succeeded by the new headteacher Steven Labedz who was appointed by the governors at the beginning of 2006 having previously held the post of Associate Headteacher. Nys Hardingham is the current headteacher.
Academy status
In October 2013, the school announced it was proposing to change its Governance status from
community school to
academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
. The school formally converted to academy status on 1 April 2014. As a converter academy, the school is independent from both the local authority and any form of sponsor or chain of other academies. The school is funded directly from Central Government.
References
External links
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Secondary schools in Portsmouth
Educational institutions established in 1995
1995 establishments in England
Academies in Portsmouth