The Meads Primary School
The Meads Primary School, Mill Way, East Grinstead, RH19 4DD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Nicole Essex
- Constituency
- East Grinstead and Uckfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 320
- Pupils on roll
- 286
- URN
- 125964
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01342322905
About this school
The Meads Primary School is a community primary school in East Grinstead. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 286 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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 January 2024, 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 | 52 | 46 | 43 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 61% | 53% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 11% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 78% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 70% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 83% | 63% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.40 | - | - |
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 The Meads 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 | 56% | 53.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 61% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 56.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 317 |
| 2023/24 | 295 |
| 2024/25 | 289 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Meads Primary School compares
The Meads Primary School ranked 135th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53% | 4.8% | 10.4% | 286 | — |
| Estcots Primary School | 61% | 4.8% | 7.6% | 403 | 0.8 miles |
| St Peter's Catholic Primary School | 58% | 4.2% | 4.5% | 188 | 1.0 miles |
| St Mary's Church of England Primary School, East Grinstead | — | — | — | 199 | 1.1 miles |
| Halsford Park Primary School | 71% | 3.4% | 9.4% | 398 | 1.2 miles |
| Blackwell Primary School | 61% | 5.6% | 18.8% | 294 | 1.2 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)
- 10.38%
- English as an additional language
- 5.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.81%
- Persistent absence
- 10.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Estcots Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · East Grinstead
-
St Peter's Catholic Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · East Grinstead
-
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, East Grinstead1.1 miles
Primary · East Grinstead
-
Halsford Park Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · East Grinstead
-
Blackwell Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · East Grinstead
Other schools in East Grinstead
The Meads Primary School ranks 7th of the 7 ranked primary schools in East Grinstead.
- Ashurst Wood Primary School Primary
- Baldwins Hill Primary School, East Grinstead Primary
- Blackwell Primary School Primary
- Estcots Primary School Primary
- Felbridge Primary School Primary
- Halsford Park Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, East Grinstead Primary
- St Peter's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Imberhorne School Secondary
- Sackville School Secondary
- Brambletye School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Meads Primary School teach?
- The Meads Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in East Grinstead.
- Who is the headteacher of The Meads Primary School?
- The headteacher of The Meads Primary School is Miss Nicole Essex, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Meads Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Meads 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 The Meads Primary School?
- The Meads Primary School has 286 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is The Meads Primary School full?
- The Meads Primary School has capacity for 320 pupils and 286 on roll (89%), 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 The Meads Primary School a faith school?
- No. The Meads Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Meads Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records The Meads Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have The Meads Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 53% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Meads Primary School rank locally?
- The Meads Primary School ranked 135th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Meads Primary School's absence rate?
- The Meads Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Meads Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Meads 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.