Downs Infant School
Ditchling Road, Brighton, BN1 6JA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 5 to 7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Walker
- Constituency
- Brighton Pavilion
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 300
- Pupils on roll
- 289
- URN
- 114367
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273099854
About this school
Downs Infant School is a community primary school in Brighton. It teaches children aged 5 to 7 and has 289 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Downs Infant School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How Downs Infant 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 345 |
| 2023/24 | 345 |
| 2024/25 | 322 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Downs Infant School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 5.7% | 11.5% | 289 | — |
| Downs Junior School | 60% | 5.4% | 16.8% | 495 | 0.1 miles |
| Fairlight Primary School | 51% | 6.3% | 49.1% | 393 | 0.4 miles |
| St Martin's CofE Primary School | 60% | 5.5% | 40.2% | 212 | 0.4 miles |
| Elm Grove Primary School | 39% | 5.8% | 20.2% | 404 | 0.7 miles |
| Coombe Road Primary School | 47% | 7.5% | 52.6% | 192 | 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)
- 11.49%
- English as an additional language
- 10.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.66%
- Persistent absence
- 14.4%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Downs Junior School0.1 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Fairlight Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
St Martin's CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Elm Grove Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Coombe Road Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Brighton
Other 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 Junior School Primary
- Eastbrook Primary Academy Primary
- Elm Grove Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Downs Infant School teach?
- Downs Infant School teaches children aged 5 to 7. It is a primary school in Brighton.
- Who is the headteacher of Downs Infant School?
- The headteacher of Downs Infant School is Mrs Lisa Walker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Downs Infant School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Downs Infant 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 many pupils are at Downs Infant School?
- Downs Infant School has 289 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 7.
- Is Downs Infant School full?
- Downs Infant School has capacity for 300 pupils and 289 on roll (96%), 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 Infant School a faith school?
- No. Downs Infant School has no designated religious character.
- Does Downs Infant School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Downs Infant School as having no nursery classes.
- What is Downs Infant School's absence rate?
- Downs Infant School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Downs Infant School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Downs Infant School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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.