Castlewood Primary School
Castlewood Road, Southwater, Horsham, RH13 9US
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kirsty Anstee-Brown
- Constituency
- Horsham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 205
- URN
- 131130
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01403734822
About this school
Castlewood Primary School is a community primary school in Horsham. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 205 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 11 January 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 26 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 73% | 73% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 7% | 17% |
| Expected standard in reading | 96% | 87% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 96% | 87% | 90% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 100% | 93% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.90 | - | - |
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 Castlewood 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 | 73% | 53.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 56.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 197 |
| 2023/24 | 201 |
| 2024/25 | 204 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Castlewood Primary School compares
Castlewood Primary School ranked 36th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 205 | — |
| Southwater Junior Academy | 69% | 3.6% | 9% | 445 | 0.4 miles |
| Southwater Infant Academy | — | 3.8% | 5.2% | 230 | 0.4 miles |
| St Andrew's CofE Primary School | 69% | 4.1% | 5.5% | 171 | 1.9 miles |
| St Mary's CofE (Aided) Primary School | 67% | 3.8% | 7.1% | 200 | 2.1 miles |
| Barns Green Primary School | 89% | 6.5% | 10.8% | 128 | 2.2 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)
- 3.43%
- English as an additional language
- 5.4%
- Overall absence
- 3.31%
- Persistent absence
- 5.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Southwater Junior Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Horsham
-
Southwater Infant Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Horsham
-
St Andrew's CofE Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Horsham
-
St Mary's CofE (Aided) Primary School2.1 miles
Primary · Horsham
-
Barns Green Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Horsham
Other schools in Horsham
Castlewood Primary School ranks 10th of the 26 ranked primary schools in Horsham.
- All Saints CofE Primary School, Horsham Primary
- Arunside School, Horsham Primary
- Barns Green Primary School Primary
- Colgate Primary School Primary
- Greenway Junior School Primary
- Heron Way Primary School Primary
- Holbrook Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Lower Beeding Primary
- Jolesfield CofE Primary School Primary
- Kilnwood Vale Primary School Primary
- Kingslea Primary School Primary
- Leechpool Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Castlewood Primary School teach?
- Castlewood Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Horsham.
- Who is the headteacher of Castlewood Primary School?
- The headteacher of Castlewood Primary School is Mrs Kirsty Anstee-Brown, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Castlewood Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Castlewood 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 Castlewood Primary School?
- Castlewood Primary School has 205 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Castlewood Primary School full?
- Castlewood Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 205 on roll (98%), 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 Castlewood Primary School a faith school?
- No. Castlewood Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Castlewood Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Castlewood Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Castlewood Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 73% in 2022/23 and 72% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Castlewood Primary School rank locally?
- Castlewood Primary School ranked 36th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Castlewood Primary School's absence rate?
- Castlewood Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Castlewood Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Castlewood 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 7 July 2026.