Southover CofE Primary School
Potters Lane, Lewes, BN7 1JP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Noel Fadden
- Diocese
- Diocese of Chichester
- Constituency
- Lewes
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 288
- URN
- 114510
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273473015
About this school
Southover CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Lewes. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 288 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 24 January 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 48 | 60 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 65% | 60% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 7% | 23% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 77% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 73% | 60% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 73% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 106.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.40 | - | - |
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 Southover CofE 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 | 63% | 54.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 65% | 56.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 60% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 309 |
| 2023/24 | 310 |
| 2024/25 | 270 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Southover CofE Primary School compares
Southover CofE Primary School ranked 75th of 131 primary schools in East Sussex 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 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 60% | 4.9% | 18.2% | 288 | — |
| Western Road Community Primary School | 70% | 5% | 7.1% | 214 | 0.0 miles |
| Wallands Community Primary and Nursery School | 53% | 6% | 30.7% | 324 | 0.8 miles |
| South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School | 67% | 5.3% | 19.4% | 230 | 1.0 miles |
| Iford and Kingston Church of England Primary School | 58% | 6.2% | 15.4% | 190 | 1.3 miles |
| Hamsey Community Primary School | 70% | 6.1% | 19% | 99 | 2.5 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)
- 18.15%
- English as an additional language
- 7%
- Overall absence
- 4.88%
- Persistent absence
- 10.16%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Western Road Community Primary School0.0 miles
Primary · Lewes
-
Wallands Community Primary and Nursery School0.8 miles
Primary · Lewes
-
South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School1.0 miles
Primary · Lewes
-
Iford and Kingston Church of England Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Lewes
-
Hamsey Community Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Lewes
Other schools in Lewes
Southover CofE Primary School ranks 6th of the 14 ranked primary schools in Lewes.
- Barcombe Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chailey St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chiddingly Primary School Primary
- East Hoathly CofE Primary School Primary
- Firle Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hamsey Community Primary School Primary
- Iford and Kingston Church of England Primary School Primary
- Laughton Community Primary School Primary
- Newick Church of England Primary School Primary
- Plumpton Primary School Primary
- Ringmer Primary and Nursery School Primary
- South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Southover CofE Primary School teach?
- Southover CofE Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Lewes.
- Who is the headteacher of Southover CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of Southover CofE Primary School is Mr Noel Fadden, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Southover CofE Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Southover CofE 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 Southover CofE Primary School?
- Southover CofE Primary School has 288 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Southover CofE Primary School full?
- Southover CofE Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 288 on roll (91%), so it has space against 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 Southover CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Southover CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Chichester.
- Does Southover CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Southover CofE Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Southover CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% 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 Southover CofE Primary School rank locally?
- Southover CofE Primary School ranked 75th of 131 primary schools in East Sussex 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 64% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Southover CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- Southover CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Southover CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Southover CofE 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.