Downsend School
1 Leatherhead Road, Leatherhead, KT22 8TJ
- Phase
- Independent schools
- School type
- Other independent school
- Ages
- 7 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mrs Bex Tear
- Constituency
- Epsom and Ewell
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 940
- Pupils on roll
- 537
- URN
- 125351
- Local authority
- Surrey
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01372372197
About this school
Downsend School is an independent school in Leatherhead. It teaches children aged 7 to 18 and has 537 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has not yet inspected Downsend School under its current framework. 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
Downsend School has not been inspected by Ofsted yet. It opened in its current form in January 1929, and new or converted schools usually wait a few years for their first inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 39 | 43 | 73 |
| Attainment 8 score | 59.8 | 61.7 | 61.0 |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 85% | 88.4% | 76.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 97% | 93% | 98.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 54% | 46.5% | 53.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.5 |
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 Downsend 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 | Surrey average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 59.8 | 38.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 61.7 | 39.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 61 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 661 |
| 2023/24 | 634 |
| 2024/25 | 613 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 0%
- Pupils with an EHC plan
- 5
- Pupils on SEN support
- 188
Location
Nearby schools
-
Little Downsend Leatherhead0.3 miles
Independent schools · Leatherhead
-
St John's School0.4 miles
Independent schools · Leatherhead
-
Woodlands School0.4 miles
Academies · Leatherhead
-
West Hill School1.2 miles
Academies · Leatherhead
-
Fox Grove School1.2 miles
Free Schools · Leatherhead
Other schools in Leatherhead
- Cranmore Independent schools
- Glenesk School Independent schools
- Little Downsend Leatherhead Independent schools
- Manor House School Independent schools
- St John's School Independent schools
- Eastwick Infant School Primary
- Eastwick Junior School Primary
- Fetcham Village Infant School Primary
- Great Bookham School Primary
- Leatherhead Trinity School and Nursery Primary
- Oakfield Junior School Primary
- Polesden Lacey Infant Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Downsend School teach?
- Downsend School teaches children aged 7 to 18. It is an independent school in Leatherhead.
- Who is the headteacher of Downsend School?
- The headteacher of Downsend School is Mrs Bex Tear, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Downsend School been inspected?
- Ofsted has not inspected Downsend School under its current framework, so no current judgement is shown. That is common for newer schools and is not a mark against a school.
- How big is Downsend School?
- Downsend School has 537 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 18.
- Is Downsend School full?
- Downsend School has capacity for 940 pupils and 537 on roll (57%), 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 Downsend School a faith school?
- No. Downsend School has no designated religious character.
- How have Downsend School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 59.8 in 2022/23 and 61 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What are Downsend School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Downsend 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 24 July 2026.