The school is adjacent to the Basingstoke Canal and part of its site is designated a nature conservation area.

Local residents were worried about the consequences of having the intended main gate opening onto their estate and it was never widened.

[citation needed] The Department for Education and Skills (DFES) recorded that in 2000 some 70% of all pupils leaving the school that year had attained five or more GCSE A*-C results, well above the national average of 49%.

[citation needed] League tables for 2005 indicate that 76% of all pupils taking exams that year gained 5 or more A*-C results.

[citation needed] The school was inspected by OFSTED in 2009, where it received a rating of "outstanding" overall.