Oathall Community College
Appledore Gardens, Lindfield, Haywards Heath, RH16 2AQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Toby Houghton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Mid Sussex
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,341
- URN
- 126085
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01444414001
About this school
Oathall Community College is a community secondary school in Haywards Heath. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,341 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Oathall Community College, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 September 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 | 213 | 234 | 231 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.3 | 50.6 | 51.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.26 +0.06 to +0.45 | +0.28 +0.09 to +0.47 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 59% | 50% | 58% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 72.6% | 74.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 58% | 53% | 63.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
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 Oathall Community College 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 | 51.3 | 37.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.6 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.6 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,185 |
| 2023/24 | 1,246 |
| 2024/25 | 1,303 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Oathall Community College compares
Oathall Community College ranked 11th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.6 | 7.9% | 14.6% | 1,341 | — |
| Warden Park Secondary Academy | 52.4 | 7.7% | 11.5% | 1,541 | 1.8 miles |
| St Paul's Catholic College | 55.5 | 5.8% | 9.3% | 1,160 | 3.9 miles |
| The Burgess Hill Academy | 44.6 | 10% | 16% | 956 | 4.2 miles |
| Chailey School | 49.3 | 6.9% | 13.3% | 862 | 5.4 miles |
| Downlands Community School | 57.3 | 7.6% | 8.3% | 1,250 | 6.2 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)
- 14.58%
- English as an additional language
- 7.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.92%
- Persistent absence
- 20.45%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Warden Park Secondary Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Haywards Heath
-
St Paul's Catholic College3.9 miles
Secondary · Burgess Hill
-
The Burgess Hill Academy4.2 miles
Secondary · Burgess Hill
-
Chailey School5.4 miles
Secondary · Lewes
-
Downlands Community School6.2 miles
Secondary · Hassocks
Other schools in Haywards Heath
- Warden Park Secondary Academy Secondary
- 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
- Handcross 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
Common questions
- What ages does Oathall Community College teach?
- Oathall Community College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Haywards Heath.
- Who is the headteacher of Oathall Community College?
- The headteacher of Oathall Community College is Mr Toby Houghton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Oathall Community College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Oathall Community College, 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 Oathall Community College?
- Oathall Community College has 1,341 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Oathall Community College full?
- Oathall Community College has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,341 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 Oathall Community College a faith school?
- No. Oathall Community College has no designated religious character.
- Is Oathall Community College a selective school?
- No. Oathall Community College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Oathall Community College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.3 in 2022/23 and 51.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Oathall Community College compare with other schools in West Sussex?
- Oathall Community College ranked 11th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Oathall Community College's absence rate?
- Oathall Community College's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Oathall Community College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Oathall Community College'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.