Dorothy Stringer School
Loder Road, Brighton, BN1 6PZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Matt Hillier
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Brighton Pavilion
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,626
- URN
- 114580
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273852222
About this school
Dorothy Stringer School is a community secondary school in Brighton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,626 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Dorothy Stringer 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
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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 329 | 325 | 330 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.8 | 49.8 | 53.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.33 +0.17 to +0.48 | +0.11 -0.05 to +0.26 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 62% | 58.2% | 61.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 82% | 74.2% | 80% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 81% | 73.2% | 75.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Dorothy Stringer 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 | 53.8 | 40.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.8 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53.3 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,640 |
| 2023/24 | 1,635 |
| 2024/25 | 1,626 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dorothy Stringer School compares
Dorothy Stringer School ranked 2nd of 10 secondary schools in Brighton and Hove for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53.3 | 10.8% | 24% | 1,626 | — |
| Varndean School | 48.8 | 9.2% | 20.5% | 1,487 | 0.3 miles |
| Patcham High School | 45.5 | 8.2% | 24.3% | 1,074 | 0.9 miles |
| Cardinal Newman Catholic School | 50.4 | 9.3% | 21.1% | 2,657 | 1.0 miles |
| Blatchington Mill School | 51 | 11.4% | 21.3% | 1,622 | 1.7 miles |
| Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre | 41.1 | 13.6% | 36.5% | 941 | 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)
- 23.99%
- English as an additional language
- 9.7%
- Overall absence
- 10.8%
- Persistent absence
- 30.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Varndean School0.3 miles
Secondary · Brighton
-
Patcham High School0.9 miles
Secondary · Brighton
-
Cardinal Newman Catholic School1.0 miles
Secondary · Hove
-
Blatchington Mill School1.7 miles
Secondary · Hove
-
Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre1.7 miles
Secondary · Hove
Other schools in Brighton
Dorothy Stringer School ranks 1st of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Brighton.
- Brighton Aldridge Community Academy Secondary
- Longhill High School Secondary
- Patcham High School Secondary
- Portslade Aldridge Community Academy Secondary
- Varndean School Secondary
- Royal Spa Nursery School Nursery
- Tarnerland Nursery School Nursery
- Balfour Primary School Primary
- Benfield Primary School Primary
- Bevendean Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Brackenbury Primary School Primary
- Carden Nursery and Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Dorothy Stringer School teach?
- Dorothy Stringer School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Brighton.
- Who is the headteacher of Dorothy Stringer School?
- The headteacher of Dorothy Stringer School is Mr Matt Hillier, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Dorothy Stringer School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dorothy Stringer 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 Dorothy Stringer School?
- Dorothy Stringer School has 1,626 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Dorothy Stringer School full?
- Dorothy Stringer School has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,626 on roll (99%), 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 Dorothy Stringer School a faith school?
- No. Dorothy Stringer School has no designated religious character.
- Is Dorothy Stringer School a selective school?
- No. Dorothy Stringer School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Dorothy Stringer School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.8 in 2022/23 and 53.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dorothy Stringer School compare with other schools in Brighton and Hove?
- Dorothy Stringer School ranked 2nd of 10 secondary schools in Brighton and Hove for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dorothy Stringer School's absence rate?
- Dorothy Stringer School's overall absence rate is 10.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dorothy Stringer School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dorothy Stringer 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.