Priory School
Mountfield Road, Lewes, BN7 2XN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- The Lewes Co-operative Learning Partnership
- Headteacher
- Mr Jon Curtis-Brignell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Lewes
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,160
- Pupils on roll
- 1,153
- URN
- 114598
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273476231
About this school
Priory School is a foundation secondary school in Lewes. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,153 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Priory 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 November 2023, 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 234 | 231 | 225 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.3 | 53.3 | 46.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.17 -0.02 to +0.36 | +0.48 +0.29 to +0.67 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 59% | 64.1% | 52.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 79% | 75.8% | 69.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 71% | 74.9% | 64.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.4 |
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 Priory 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 | 51.3 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.3 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.4 | 33.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,152 |
| 2023/24 | 1,154 |
| 2024/25 | 1,163 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Priory School compares
Priory School ranked 11th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 63% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.4 | 12.1% | 19.4% | 1,153 | — |
| King's Academy Ringmer | 47.6 | 10% | 22% | 659 | 2.9 miles |
| Brighton Aldridge Community Academy | 36.2 | 15.2% | 50.2% | 808 | 4.9 miles |
| Longhill High School | 32.9 | 16.8% | 44.3% | 632 | 5.0 miles |
| Peacehaven Community School | 40.1 | 11.2% | 23.5% | 890 | 5.1 miles |
| Chailey School | 49.3 | 6.9% | 13.3% | 862 | 5.2 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)
- 19.35%
- English as an additional language
- 4%
- Overall absence
- 12.07%
- Persistent absence
- 32.94%
Location
Nearby schools
-
King's Academy Ringmer2.9 miles
Secondary · Lewes
-
Brighton Aldridge Community Academy4.9 miles
Secondary · Brighton
-
Longhill High School5.0 miles
Secondary · Brighton
-
Peacehaven Community School5.1 miles
Secondary · Peacehaven
-
Chailey School5.2 miles
Secondary · Lewes
Other schools in Lewes
- Chailey School Secondary
- King's Academy Ringmer 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 Priory School teach?
- Priory School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Lewes.
- Who is the headteacher of Priory School?
- The headteacher of Priory School is Mr Jon Curtis-Brignell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Priory School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Priory 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 Priory School?
- Priory School has 1,153 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Priory School full?
- Priory School has capacity for 1,160 pupils and 1,153 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 Priory School a faith school?
- No. Priory School has no designated religious character.
- Is Priory School a selective school?
- No. Priory School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Priory School part of an academy trust?
- Priory School is part of The Lewes Co-operative Learning Partnership. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Priory School have?
- The schools register lists Priory School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Priory School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.3 in 2022/23 and 46.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Priory School compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- Priory School ranked 11th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 63% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Priory School's absence rate?
- Priory School's overall absence rate is 12.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Priory School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Priory 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.