Downlands Community School
Dale Avenue, Hassocks, BN6 8LP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Matt Ashdown
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Mid Sussex
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,250
- URN
- 126087
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273845892
About this school
Downlands Community School is a community secondary school in Hassocks. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,250 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 234 | 238 | 231 |
| Attainment 8 score | 56.0 | 54.9 | 57.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.51 +0.33 to +0.70 | +0.53 +0.35 to +0.72 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 62% | 58% | 66.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 85% | 76.5% | 85.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 79% | 74.4% | 75.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.3 | 5.1 | 5.3 |
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 Downlands Community 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 | 37.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54.9 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 57.3 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,225 |
| 2023/24 | 1,255 |
| 2024/25 | 1,250 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Downlands Community School compares
Downlands Community School ranked 1st of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 90% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57.3 | 7.6% | 8.3% | 1,250 | — |
| The Burgess Hill Academy | 44.6 | 10% | 16% | 956 | 2.1 miles |
| St Paul's Catholic College | 55.5 | 5.8% | 9.3% | 1,160 | 3.2 miles |
| Patcham High School | 45.5 | 8.2% | 24.3% | 1,074 | 4.1 miles |
| Brighton Aldridge Community Academy | 36.2 | 15.2% | 50.2% | 808 | 4.8 miles |
| Varndean School | 48.8 | 9.2% | 20.5% | 1,487 | 4.9 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)
- 8.32%
- English as an additional language
- 4%
- Overall absence
- 7.62%
- Persistent absence
- 19.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Burgess Hill Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Burgess Hill
-
St Paul's Catholic College3.2 miles
Secondary · Burgess Hill
-
Patcham High School4.1 miles
Secondary · Brighton
-
Brighton Aldridge Community Academy4.8 miles
Secondary · Brighton
-
Varndean School4.9 miles
Secondary · Brighton
Other schools in Hassocks
- Albourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hassocks Infant School Primary
- St Lawrence CofE Primary School Primary
- The Windmills Junior School Primary
- LVS Hassocks Special schools
- Hurstpierpoint College Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Downlands Community School teach?
- Downlands Community School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Hassocks.
- Who is the headteacher of Downlands Community School?
- The headteacher of Downlands Community School is Mr Matt Ashdown, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Downlands Community School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Downlands Community 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 Downlands Community School?
- Downlands Community School has 1,250 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Downlands Community School full?
- Downlands Community School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,250 on roll (104%), 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 Downlands Community School a faith school?
- No. Downlands Community School has no designated religious character.
- Is Downlands Community School a selective school?
- No. Downlands Community School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Downlands Community School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 56 in 2022/23 and 57.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Downlands Community School rank locally?
- Downlands Community School ranked 1st of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 90% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Downlands Community School's absence rate?
- Downlands Community School's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Downlands Community School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Downlands Community 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.