Polegate Primary School
Oakleaf Drive, East Sussex, Polegate, BN26 6PT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Deborah Jones
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Lewes
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 689
- URN
- 114435
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01323482404
About this school
Polegate Primary School is a community primary school in Polegate. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 689 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. 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 90 | 89 | 90 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 57% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 4% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 76% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 67% | 66% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 67% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.70 | - | - |
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 Polegate 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 | 56% | 54.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 56.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 696 |
| 2023/24 | 692 |
| 2024/25 | 692 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Polegate Primary School compares
Polegate Primary School ranked 60th of 131 primary schools in East Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 5% | 18.7% | 689 | — |
| Willingdon Primary School | 63% | 6.1% | 15.3% | 421 | 1.2 miles |
| Oakwood Primary Academy | 57% | 6.8% | 44% | 300 | 1.7 miles |
| Stone Cross School | 53% | 5% | 14.9% | 419 | 2.0 miles |
| Parkland Infant School | — | 5.8% | 26.8% | 178 | 2.1 miles |
| Parkland Junior School | 68% | 5.3% | 36.2% | 243 | 2.1 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report14 May 2025
- 15 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 18.73%
- English as an additional language
- 3.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.03%
- Persistent absence
- 10.43%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Willingdon Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
-
Oakwood Primary Academy1.7 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
-
Stone Cross School2.0 miles
Primary · Pevensey
-
Parkland Infant School2.1 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
-
Parkland Junior School2.1 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
Other schools in Polegate
- Alfriston School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Polegate Primary School teach?
- Polegate Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Polegate.
- Who is the headteacher of Polegate Primary School?
- The headteacher of Polegate Primary School is Mrs Deborah Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Polegate Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Polegate 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 big is Polegate Primary School?
- Polegate Primary School has 689 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Polegate Primary School full?
- Polegate Primary School has capacity for 630 pupils and 689 on roll (109%), 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 Polegate Primary School a faith school?
- No. Polegate Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Polegate Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Polegate Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Polegate Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 66% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Polegate Primary School rank locally?
- Polegate Primary School ranked 60th of 131 primary schools in East Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Polegate Primary School's absence rate?
- Polegate Primary School's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Polegate Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Polegate 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.