Chailey School
Mill Lane, South Chailey, Lewes, BN8 4PU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Holt
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- East Grinstead and Uckfield
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 870
- Pupils on roll
- 862
- URN
- 114594
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273890407
About this school
Chailey School is a community secondary school in Lewes. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 862 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Chailey 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 149 | 155 | 168 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.7 | 53.4 | 49.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.08 -0.31 to +0.16 | +0.36 +0.13 to +0.60 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 65.2% | 52.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 80% | 71.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 77% | 72.9% | 71.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.7 |
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 Chailey 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 | 47.7 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.4 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.3 | 33.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 827 |
| 2023/24 | 840 |
| 2024/25 | 855 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Chailey School compares
Chailey School ranked 5th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.3 | 6.9% | 13.3% | 862 | — |
| The Burgess Hill Academy | 44.6 | 10% | 16% | 956 | 4.7 miles |
| Downlands Community School | 57.3 | 7.6% | 8.3% | 1,250 | 5.0 miles |
| King's Academy Ringmer | 47.6 | 10% | 22% | 659 | 5.1 miles |
| Priory School | 46.4 | 12.1% | 19.4% | 1,153 | 5.2 miles |
| Oathall Community College | 51.6 | 7.9% | 14.6% | 1,341 | 5.4 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 13.33%
- English as an additional language
- 2.5%
- Overall absence
- 6.85%
- Persistent absence
- 18.13%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Burgess Hill Academy4.7 miles
Secondary · Burgess Hill
-
Downlands Community School5.0 miles
Secondary · Hassocks
-
King's Academy Ringmer5.1 miles
Secondary · Lewes
-
Priory School5.2 miles
Secondary · Lewes
-
Oathall Community College5.4 miles
Secondary · Haywards Heath
Other schools in Lewes
- King's Academy Ringmer Secondary
- Priory School Secondary
- 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
Common questions
- What ages does Chailey School teach?
- Chailey School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Lewes.
- Who is the headteacher of Chailey School?
- The headteacher of Chailey School is Mr Paul Holt, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Chailey School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Chailey 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 Chailey School?
- Chailey School has 862 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Chailey School full?
- Chailey School has capacity for 870 pupils and 862 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 Chailey School a faith school?
- No. Chailey School has no designated religious character.
- Is Chailey School a selective school?
- No. Chailey School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Chailey School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.7 in 2022/23 and 49.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Chailey School compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- Chailey School ranked 5th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Chailey School's absence rate?
- Chailey School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Chailey School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Chailey 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.