Warden Park Secondary Academy
Broad Street, Cuckfield, Haywards Heath, RH17 5DP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SUSSEX LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Dan Wynne Willson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Sussex Learning Trust
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Mid Sussex
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,541
- URN
- 137416
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01444457881
About this school
Warden Park Secondary Academy is a secondary academy in Haywards Heath. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,541 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Warden Park Secondary 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 February 2022, 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 290 | 297 | 292 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.4 | 54.1 | 52.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.30 +0.13 to +0.46 | +0.28 +0.12 to +0.45 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 61% | 60.3% | 58.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 80% | 79.1% | 79.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 40% | 35.7% | 34.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
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 Warden Park Secondary 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 | 53.4 | 37.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54.1 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.4 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,523 |
| 2023/24 | 1,526 |
| 2024/25 | 1,538 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Warden Park Secondary Academy compares
Warden Park Secondary Academy ranked 8th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.4 | 7.7% | 11.5% | 1,541 | — |
| Oathall Community College | 51.6 | 7.9% | 14.6% | 1,341 | 1.8 miles |
| St Paul's Catholic College | 55.5 | 5.8% | 9.3% | 1,160 | 2.8 miles |
| The Burgess Hill Academy | 44.6 | 10% | 16% | 956 | 3.6 miles |
| Downlands Community School | 57.3 | 7.6% | 8.3% | 1,250 | 5.7 miles |
| Chailey School | 49.3 | 6.9% | 13.3% | 862 | 6.4 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 11.51%
- English as an additional language
- 7.9%
- Overall absence
- 7.73%
- Persistent absence
- 20.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oathall Community College1.8 miles
Secondary · Haywards Heath
-
St Paul's Catholic College2.8 miles
Secondary · Burgess Hill
-
The Burgess Hill Academy3.6 miles
Secondary · Burgess Hill
-
Downlands Community School5.7 miles
Secondary · Hassocks
-
Chailey School6.4 miles
Secondary · Lewes
Other schools in Haywards Heath
- Oathall Community College Secondary
- Balcombe Cofe Primary School Primary
- Blackthorns Community Primary School Primary
- Bolney CofE Primary School Primary
- Bolnore Village Primary School Primary
- Danehill Church of England Primary School Primary
- Handcross Primary School Primary
- Harlands Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Cuckfield Primary
- Lindfield Primary Academy Primary
- Northlands Wood Primary Academy Primary
- St Augustine's CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Warden Park Secondary Academy teach?
- Warden Park Secondary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Haywards Heath.
- Who is the headteacher of Warden Park Secondary Academy?
- The headteacher of Warden Park Secondary Academy is Mr Dan Wynne Willson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Warden Park Secondary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Warden Park Secondary 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 Warden Park Secondary Academy?
- Warden Park Secondary Academy has 1,541 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Warden Park Secondary Academy full?
- Warden Park Secondary Academy has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,541 on roll (103%), 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 Warden Park Secondary Academy a faith school?
- No. Warden Park Secondary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Warden Park Secondary Academy a selective school?
- No. Warden Park Secondary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Warden Park Secondary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Warden Park Secondary Academy is part of SUSSEX LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Warden Park Secondary Academy have?
- The schools register lists Warden Park Secondary Academy's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Warden Park Secondary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.4 in 2022/23 and 52.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Warden Park Secondary Academy compare with other schools in West Sussex?
- Warden Park Secondary Academy ranked 8th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Warden Park Secondary Academy's absence rate?
- Warden Park Secondary Academy's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Warden Park Secondary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Warden Park Secondary 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.