Schools in West Sussex
334 schools in the West Sussex local authority.
Schools
334
Open schools
Pupils
128,510
2025–26 census
Good or better
92%
237 of 258 graded
Academic Performance
4.4
out of 10 · 291 schools
Ofsted ratings
- Outstanding
- 19 7%
- Good
- 218 84%
- Requires improvement
- 19 7%
- Inadequate
- 2 <1%
28 inspected since 2024, no overall grade23 superseded by a report card48 not judged1 in a category of concern1 safeguarding not effective
4.4
Academic PerformanceAveraged over 291 of 334 schools that can be scored
Pupils
128,510
pupils on roll
Boys 52%48% Girls
Roll from 329 of 334 schools (128,510 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Ethnicity
White
81%Asian
7%Black
3%Mixed
7%Chinese
<1%Any other group
1%Unclassified
2%Ethnicity from 283 of 334 schools (116,810 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Pupil characteristics
- Free school meals
- 16.5%
- First language not English
- 13.6%
- Young carers
- 1.2%
19,232 of 116,810 pupils · 283 of 334 schools
15,906 of 116,810 pupils · 283 of 334 schools
1,342 of 116,183 pupils · 279 of 334 schools
Schools by phase
- Primary
- 235
- Secondary
- 44
- All-through
- 13
- Special
- 20
- Nursery
- 4
- PRU
- 2
- Not recorded
- 16
Top primary schools in West Sussex
The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Heron Way Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary9.8/10Outstanding
- 2.Rose Green Junior SchoolWest Sussex · Primary9.6/10Outstanding
- 3.Blackthorns Community Primary AcademyWest Sussex · Primary9.5/10Outstanding
- 4.Lindfield Primary AcademyWest Sussex · Primary9.5/10Outstanding
- 5.Handcross Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary8.8/10Good
- 6.Kingslea Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary8.8/10Good
- 7.Arundel CofE Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary8.7/10Good
- 8.Barns Green Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary8.7/10
- 9.Eastbrook Primary AcademyWest Sussex · Primary8.6/10
- 10.Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary8.5/10Good
- 11.Aldingbourne Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary8.4/10Good
- 12.The Mill Primary AcademyWest Sussex · Primary8.3/10Good
- 13.Broadfield Primary AcademyWest Sussex · Primary8.2/10Good
- 14.Seymour Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary8.2/10Good
- 15.St Peter's Catholic Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary8.2/10Good
- 16.Vale School, WorthingWest Sussex · Primary8.2/10Good
- 17.Albourne Church of England Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary8.1/10
- 18.All Saints CofE Primary School, HorshamWest Sussex · Primary8.0/10
- 19.Bramber Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary7.9/10Good
- 20.Barnham Primary SchoolWest Sussex · Primary7.8/10Good
Top secondary schools in West Sussex
The 20 highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Shoreham AcademyWest Sussex · Secondary9.8/10Outstanding
- 2.St Paul's Catholic CollegeWest Sussex · Secondary9.8/10Outstanding
- 3.Bishop Luffa School, ChichesterWest Sussex · Secondary9.7/10Outstanding
- 4.Tanbridge House SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary9.7/10Outstanding
- 5.Davison Church of England High School for Girls, WorthingWest Sussex · Secondary9.6/10Outstanding
- 6.Hazelwick SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary9.6/10Outstanding
- 7.Midhurst Rother CollegeWest Sussex · Secondary9.6/10Outstanding
- 8.St Philip Howard Catholic SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary9.6/10Outstanding
- 9.Downlands Community SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary8.7/10Good
- 10.St Oscar Romero Catholic SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary8.6/10
- 11.Millais SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary8.1/10Good
- 12.Oathall Community CollegeWest Sussex · Secondary8.0/10Good
- 13.Warden Park Secondary AcademyWest Sussex · Secondary8.0/10Good
- 14.Bohunt HorshamWest Sussex · Secondary7.8/10Good
- 15.Durrington High SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary7.2/10Good
- 16.Worthing High SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary6.9/10Good
- 17.Weald School, TheWest Sussex · Secondary6.7/10
- 18.Bohunt School WorthingWest Sussex · Secondary6.3/10Good
- 19.Oriel High SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary5.9/10
- 20.Sackville SchoolWest Sussex · Secondary5.8/10Good
Browse all 334 schools in West Sussex — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.
About schools in West Sussex
- How many schools are there in West Sussex?
- West Sussex has 334 open schools — 235 primary, 44 secondary, 20 special, 4 nursery, teaching 128,510 pupils in total.
- How many schools in West Sussex are rated Good or Outstanding?
- 237 of the 258 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 92% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 19 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 334: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
- What is the average Academic Performance in West Sussex?
- 4.4 out of 10, averaged across the 291 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
- Why do some West Sussex schools have no Ofsted rating?
- 76 schools in West Sussex currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
- What does West Sussex local authority do?
- A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. West Sussex covers 334 schools and sits in the South East region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
- How many pupils in West Sussex are eligible for free school meals?
- 16.5% — 19,232 of 116,810 pupils at the 283 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.
Part of the South East region.