Handcross Primary School
London Road, Handcross, Haywards Heath, RH17 6HB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sharon Bondonno
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- East Grinstead and Uckfield
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 238
- URN
- 125932
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01444400291
About this school
Handcross Primary School is a community primary school in Haywards Heath. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 238 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 May 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 83% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 17% | 14% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 97% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 93% | 90% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 90% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 108.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.80 | - | - |
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 Handcross 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 | West Sussex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70% | 53.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 83% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 56.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 249 |
| 2023/24 | 247 |
| 2024/25 | 248 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Handcross Primary School compares
Handcross Primary School ranked 9th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 4% | 12.9% | 238 | — |
| St. Mark's CofE Primary School | 47% | 5.4% | 19.8% | 100 | 1.7 miles |
| Woodgate Primary Academy | 50% | 7.3% | 27% | 169 | 1.7 miles |
| Colgate Primary School | 50% | 7.5% | 18.6% | 126 | 2.3 miles |
| Broadfield Primary Academy | 77% | 6.2% | 34.7% | 502 | 2.6 miles |
| Seymour Primary School | 77% | 4.7% | 32% | 455 | 2.7 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)
- 12.94%
- English as an additional language
- 10.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.03%
- Persistent absence
- 7.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St. Mark's CofE Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Haywards Heath
-
Woodgate Primary Academy1.7 miles
Primary · Crawley
-
Colgate Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Horsham
-
Broadfield Primary Academy2.6 miles
Primary · Crawley
-
Seymour Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Crawley
Other schools in Haywards Heath
Handcross Primary School ranks 2nd of the 18 ranked primary schools in Haywards Heath.
- Balcombe Cofe Primary School Primary
- Blackthorns Community Primary School Primary
- Bolney CofE Primary School Primary
- Bolnore Village Primary School Primary
- Danehill Church of England Primary School Primary
- Harlands Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Cuckfield Primary
- Lindfield Primary Academy Primary
- Northlands Wood Primary Academy Primary
- St Augustine's CofE Primary School Primary
- St Giles CofE Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Handcross Primary School teach?
- Handcross Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Haywards Heath.
- Who is the headteacher of Handcross Primary School?
- The headteacher of Handcross Primary School is Mrs Sharon Bondonno, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Handcross Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Handcross 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 Handcross Primary School?
- Handcross Primary School has 238 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Handcross Primary School full?
- Handcross Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 238 on roll (113%), so it is at or above 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 Handcross Primary School a faith school?
- No. Handcross Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Handcross Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Handcross Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Handcross Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 70% in 2022/23 and 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Handcross Primary School rank locally?
- Handcross Primary School ranked 9th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Handcross Primary School's absence rate?
- Handcross Primary School's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Handcross Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Handcross 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.