Downs Junior School
Rugby Road, Brighton, BN1 6ED
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Katie Blood
- Constituency
- Brighton Pavilion
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 512
- Pupils on roll
- 495
- URN
- 114366
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273558422
About this school
Downs Junior School is a community primary school in Brighton. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 495 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 126 | 122 | 127 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 59% | 60% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 5% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 86% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 85% | 81% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 78% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.90 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Downs Junior School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Brighton and Hove average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67% | 55.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 60% | 55.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 508 |
| 2023/24 | 505 |
| 2024/25 | 499 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Downs Junior School compares
Downs Junior School ranked 18th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 60% | 5.4% | 16.8% | 495 | — |
| Downs Infant School | — | 5.7% | 11.5% | 289 | 0.1 miles |
| Fairlight Primary School | 51% | 6.3% | 49.1% | 393 | 0.5 miles |
| St Martin's CofE Primary School | 60% | 5.5% | 40.2% | 212 | 0.5 miles |
| Balfour Primary School | 71% | 4.7% | 11.3% | 695 | 0.6 miles |
| Hertford Primary School | 44% | 6.9% | 36.2% | 205 | 0.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.83%
- English as an additional language
- 13%
- Overall absence
- 5.36%
- Persistent absence
- 11.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Downs Infant School0.1 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Fairlight Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
St Martin's CofE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Balfour Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Hertford Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Brighton
Other schools in Brighton
Downs Junior School ranks 14th of the 36 ranked primary schools in Brighton.
- Balfour Primary School Primary
- Benfield Primary School Primary
- Bevendean Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Brackenbury Primary School Primary
- Carden Nursery and Primary School Primary
- Carlton Hill Primary School Primary
- City Academy Whitehawk Primary
- Coldean Primary School Primary
- Coombe Road Primary School Primary
- Downs Infant School Primary
- Eastbrook Primary Academy Primary
- Elm Grove Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Downs Junior School teach?
- Downs Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Brighton.
- Who is the headteacher of Downs Junior School?
- The headteacher of Downs Junior School is Ms Katie Blood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Downs Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Downs Junior School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Downs Junior School?
- Downs Junior School has 495 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Downs Junior School full?
- Downs Junior School has capacity for 512 pupils and 495 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Downs Junior School a faith school?
- No. Downs Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Downs Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Downs Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Downs Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 60% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Downs Junior School rank locally?
- Downs Junior School ranked 18th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Downs Junior School's absence rate?
- Downs Junior School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Downs Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Downs Junior School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.