The Sir Robert Woodard Academy
Upper Boundstone Lane, Sompting, BN15 9QZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Christian
- Trust
- WOODARD ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Kieran Scanlon
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Woodard Academies Trust
- Constituency
- East Worthing and Shoreham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,400
- Pupils on roll
- 1,427
- URN
- 135744
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01903767434
About this school
The Sir Robert Woodard Academy is a Christian secondary academy in Sompting. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,427 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 178 | 262 | 237 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.2 | 44.4 | 42.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.30 -0.51 to -0.09 | -0.18 -0.35 to -0.01 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 42% | 37.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 69.8% | 62% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 71% | 77.9% | 76.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.1 |
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 The Sir Robert Woodard Academy 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 | 41.2 | 37.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.4 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.1 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,380 |
| 2023/24 | 1,376 |
| 2024/25 | 1,412 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Sir Robert Woodard Academy compares
The Sir Robert Woodard Academy ranked 28th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.1 | 9.3% | 18.9% | 1,427 | — |
| Davison Church of England High School for Girls, Worthing | 52.1 | 8.3% | 14.1% | 1,334 | 1.6 miles |
| St Andrew's CofE High School | 41.7 | 11.1% | 25.2% | 780 | 1.9 miles |
| Bohunt School Worthing | 46.7 | 8.3% | 18.1% | 900 | 2.1 miles |
| Worthing High School | 48.6 | 8.9% | 15.7% | 1,050 | 2.4 miles |
| Durrington High School | 49.8 | 8.9% | 20.2% | 1,572 | 3.4 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report13 January 2026
- 19 October 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 18.91%
- English as an additional language
- 5.7%
- Overall absence
- 9.26%
- Persistent absence
- 27.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Davison Church of England High School for Girls, Worthing1.6 miles
Secondary · Worthing
-
St Andrew's CofE High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Worthing
-
Bohunt School Worthing2.1 miles
Secondary · Worthing
-
Worthing High School2.4 miles
Secondary · Worthing
-
Durrington High School3.4 miles
Secondary · Worthing
Common questions
- What ages does The Sir Robert Woodard Academy teach?
- The Sir Robert Woodard Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Sompting.
- Who is the principal of The Sir Robert Woodard Academy?
- The principal of The Sir Robert Woodard Academy is Mr Kieran Scanlon, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Sir Robert Woodard Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, 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 The Sir Robert Woodard Academy?
- The Sir Robert Woodard Academy has 1,427 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Sir Robert Woodard Academy full?
- The Sir Robert Woodard Academy has capacity for 1,400 pupils and 1,427 on roll (102%), 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 The Sir Robert Woodard Academy a faith school?
- Yes. The Sir Robert Woodard Academy is designated Christian.
- Is The Sir Robert Woodard Academy a selective school?
- No. The Sir Robert Woodard Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Sir Robert Woodard Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Sir Robert Woodard Academy is part of WOODARD ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Sir Robert Woodard Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.2 in 2022/23 and 42.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Sir Robert Woodard Academy compare with other schools in West Sussex?
- The Sir Robert Woodard Academy ranked 28th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% 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 Sir Robert Woodard Academy's absence rate?
- The Sir Robert Woodard Academy's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Sir Robert Woodard Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Sir Robert Woodard Academy'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 1 July 2026.