Southway Junior School
Southway, Burgess Hill, RH15 9SU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Vanessa Smith
- Constituency
- Mid Sussex
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 362
- URN
- 125941
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01444233824
About this school
Southway Junior School is a community primary school in Burgess Hill. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 362 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Southway Junior 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 83 | 89 | 91 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 59% | 65% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 1% | 2% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 81% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 84% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 85% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.60 | - | - |
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 Southway Junior 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 | 59% | 53.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 65% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 56.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 349 |
| 2023/24 | 353 |
| 2024/25 | 362 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Southway Junior School compares
Southway Junior School ranked 34th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73% | 4.4% | 16.9% | 362 | — |
| The Gattons Infant School | — | 4.7% | 11.9% | 250 | 0.2 miles |
| St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School | 77% | 4.4% | 5.5% | 433 | 0.7 miles |
| Sheddingdean Community Primary School | 66% | 7.3% | 13.9% | 199 | 0.9 miles |
| London Meed Community Primary School | 55% | 5.7% | 15.6% | 415 | 1.0 miles |
| Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill | 76% | 5.5% | 7.1% | 403 | 1.5 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)
- 16.85%
- English as an additional language
- 11.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.44%
- Persistent absence
- 9.04%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Gattons Infant School0.2 miles
Primary · Burgess Hill
-
St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Burgess Hill
-
Sheddingdean Community Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Burgess Hill
-
London Meed Community Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Burgess Hill
-
Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill1.5 miles
Primary · Burgess Hill
Other schools in Burgess Hill
Southway Junior School ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked primary schools in Burgess Hill.
- Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill Primary
- London Meed Community Primary School Primary
- Oak Tree Primary School Primary
- Sheddingdean Community Primary School Primary
- St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School Primary
- The Gattons Infant School Primary
- St Paul's Catholic College Secondary
- The Burgess Hill Academy Secondary
- Hambrook School Special schools
- West Sussex Alternative Provision College Local authority maintained schools
- Woodlands Meed Special schools
- Burgess Hill Girls Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Southway Junior School teach?
- Southway Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Burgess Hill.
- Who is the headteacher of Southway Junior School?
- The headteacher of Southway Junior School is Mrs Vanessa Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Southway Junior School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Southway Junior 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 Southway Junior School?
- Southway Junior School has 362 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Southway Junior School full?
- Southway Junior School has capacity for 360 pupils and 362 on roll (101%), 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 Southway Junior School a faith school?
- No. Southway Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Southway Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Southway Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Southway Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 59% in 2022/23 and 73% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Southway Junior School compare with other schools in West Sussex?
- Southway Junior School ranked 34th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Southway Junior School's absence rate?
- Southway Junior School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Southway Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Southway Junior 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.