Imberhorne School
Imberhorne Lane, East Grinstead, RH19 1QY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Matthew Whatford
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- East Grinstead and Uckfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,688
- Pupils on roll
- 1,558
- URN
- 126088
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01342323562
About this school
Imberhorne School is a community secondary school in East Grinstead. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,558 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 October 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 258 | 266 | 243 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.3 | 44.2 | 45.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.14 -0.03 to +0.32 | -0.05 -0.22 to +0.13 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 41.4% | 42.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 62.8% | 62.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 46% | 43.2% | 35.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
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 Imberhorne 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 | 49.3 | 37.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.2 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.1 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,624 |
| 2023/24 | 1,615 |
| 2024/25 | 1,573 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Imberhorne School compares
Imberhorne School ranked 23rd of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.1 | 9.5% | 11.8% | 1,558 | — |
| Sackville School | 46.1 | 9.9% | 13.6% | 1,525 | 1.7 miles |
| Oriel High School | 45.4 | 8.8% | 14.9% | 1,441 | 5.7 miles |
| Hazelwick School | 50.2 | 6.6% | 18.7% | 1,913 | 5.7 miles |
| Oakwood School | 43 | 9.2% | 17.3% | 1,610 | 5.9 miles |
| Thomas Bennett Community College | 33.1 | 11.6% | 37.8% | 1,261 | 7.2 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)
- 11.82%
- English as an additional language
- 6%
- Overall absence
- 9.52%
- Persistent absence
- 26.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sackville School1.7 miles
Secondary · East Grinstead
-
Oriel High School5.7 miles
Secondary · Crawley
-
Hazelwick School5.7 miles
Secondary · Crawley
-
Oakwood School5.9 miles
Secondary · Horley
-
Thomas Bennett Community College7.2 miles
Secondary · Crawley
Other schools in East Grinstead
- Sackville School Secondary
- 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
- The Meads Primary School Primary
- Brambletye School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Imberhorne School teach?
- Imberhorne School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in East Grinstead.
- Who is the headteacher of Imberhorne School?
- The headteacher of Imberhorne School is Mr Matthew Whatford, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Imberhorne School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Imberhorne 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 Imberhorne School?
- Imberhorne School has 1,558 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Imberhorne School full?
- Imberhorne School has capacity for 1,688 pupils and 1,558 on roll (92%), 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 Imberhorne School a faith school?
- No. Imberhorne School has no designated religious character.
- Is Imberhorne School a selective school?
- No. Imberhorne School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Imberhorne School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.3 in 2022/23 and 45.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Imberhorne School rank locally?
- Imberhorne School ranked 23rd of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Imberhorne School's absence rate?
- Imberhorne School's overall absence rate is 9.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Imberhorne School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Imberhorne 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.