Willingdon Primary School
Rapsons Road, Willingdon, Eastbourne, BN20 9RJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Gemma Roxburgh
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Lewes
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 421
- URN
- 114422
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01323482619
About this school
Willingdon Primary School is a community primary school in Eastbourne. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 421 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Willingdon Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- 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 | 60 | 59 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 54% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 22% | 10% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 64% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 69% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 63% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.90 | - | - |
| 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 Willingdon Primary 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 | East Sussex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65% | 54.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 56.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 418 |
| 2023/24 | 421 |
| 2024/25 | 418 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Willingdon Primary School compares
Willingdon Primary School ranked 67th of 131 primary schools in East Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 6.1% | 15.3% | 421 | — |
| Oakwood Primary Academy | 57% | 6.8% | 44% | 300 | 1.1 miles |
| Polegate Primary School | 66% | 5% | 18.7% | 689 | 1.2 miles |
| Parkland Infant School | — | 5.8% | 26.8% | 178 | 1.4 miles |
| Parkland Junior School | 68% | 5.3% | 36.2% | 243 | 1.4 miles |
| Ocklynge Junior School | 52% | 5.1% | 30.2% | 720 | 1.7 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)
- 15.31%
- English as an additional language
- 3.8%
- Overall absence
- 6.09%
- Persistent absence
- 15.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oakwood Primary Academy1.1 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
-
Polegate Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Polegate
-
Parkland Infant School1.4 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
-
Parkland Junior School1.4 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
-
Ocklynge Junior School1.7 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
Other schools in Eastbourne
Willingdon Primary School ranks 5th of the 14 ranked primary schools in Eastbourne.
- Bourne Primary School Primary
- Heron Park Primary Academy Primary
- Langney Primary Academy Primary
- Motcombe Infants' School Primary
- Oakwood Primary Academy Primary
- Ocklynge Junior School Primary
- Parkland Infant School Primary
- Parkland Junior School Primary
- Pashley Down Infant School Primary
- Roselands Infants' School Primary
- Shinewater Primary School Primary
- St Andrew's Church of England Infants School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Willingdon Primary School teach?
- Willingdon Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Eastbourne.
- Who is the headteacher of Willingdon Primary School?
- The headteacher of Willingdon Primary School is Mrs Gemma Roxburgh, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Willingdon Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Willingdon Primary 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 Willingdon Primary School?
- Willingdon Primary School has 421 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Willingdon Primary School full?
- Willingdon Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 421 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Willingdon Primary School a faith school?
- No. Willingdon Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Willingdon Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Willingdon Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Willingdon Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Willingdon Primary School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Willingdon Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Willingdon Primary School compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- Willingdon Primary School ranked 67th of 131 primary schools in East Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Willingdon Primary School's absence rate?
- Willingdon Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Willingdon Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Willingdon Primary 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.