Southwater Junior Academy
Worthing Road, Southwater, Horsham, RH13 9JH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE SOUTHWATER JUNIOR ACADEMY
- Headteacher Designate
- Mrs Rebecca Toogood
- Constituency
- Horsham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 480
- Pupils on roll
- 445
- URN
- 136865
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01403730475
About this school
Southwater Junior Academy is a primary academy in Horsham. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 445 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Southwater Junior Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 7 June 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 | 115 | 93 | 108 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 72% | 63% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 11% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 75% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 84% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 85% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.30 | - | - |
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 Southwater Junior 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 | 72% | 53.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 56.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 421 |
| 2023/24 | 436 |
| 2024/25 | 445 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Southwater Junior Academy compares
Southwater Junior Academy ranked 50th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 3.6% | 9% | 445 | — |
| Southwater Infant Academy | — | 3.8% | 5.2% | 230 | 0.1 miles |
| Castlewood Primary School | 72% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 205 | 0.4 miles |
| Barns Green Primary School | 89% | 6.5% | 10.8% | 128 | 1.8 miles |
| St Andrew's CofE Primary School | 69% | 4.1% | 5.5% | 171 | 2.2 miles |
| St Mary's CofE (Aided) Primary School | 67% | 3.8% | 7.1% | 200 | 2.3 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)
- 8.99%
- English as an additional language
- 10.3%
- Overall absence
- 3.63%
- Persistent absence
- 4.9%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Southwater Infant Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Horsham
-
Castlewood Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Horsham
-
Barns Green Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Horsham
-
St Andrew's CofE Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Horsham
-
St Mary's CofE (Aided) Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Horsham
Other schools in Horsham
Southwater Junior Academy ranks 13th of the 26 ranked primary schools in Horsham.
- All Saints CofE Primary School, Horsham Primary
- Arunside School, Horsham Primary
- Barns Green Primary School Primary
- Castlewood 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
Common questions
- What ages does Southwater Junior Academy teach?
- Southwater Junior Academy teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Horsham.
- Who is the headteacher designate of Southwater Junior Academy?
- The headteacher designate of Southwater Junior Academy is Mrs Rebecca Toogood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Southwater Junior Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Southwater Junior 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 Southwater Junior Academy?
- Southwater Junior Academy has 445 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Southwater Junior Academy full?
- Southwater Junior Academy has capacity for 480 pupils and 445 on roll (93%), 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 Southwater Junior Academy a faith school?
- No. Southwater Junior Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Southwater Junior Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Southwater Junior Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Southwater Junior Academy part of an academy trust?
- Southwater Junior Academy is part of THE SOUTHWATER JUNIOR ACADEMY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Southwater Junior Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 72% in 2022/23 and 69% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Southwater Junior Academy compare with other schools in West Sussex?
- Southwater Junior Academy ranked 50th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Southwater Junior Academy's absence rate?
- Southwater Junior Academy's overall absence rate is 3.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Southwater Junior Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Southwater Junior 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.