Hilltop Primary School
Ditchling Hill, Southgate West, Crawley, RH11 8QL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Abby MCNIVEN Mr Ross FARNDON
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Kemnal Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Crawley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 658
- URN
- 138648
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01293534314
About this school
Hilltop Primary School is a primary academy in Crawley. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 658 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 6 March 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. 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 | 85 | 82 | 84 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 66% | 71% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 4% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 78% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 79% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 78% | 80% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.40 | - | - |
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 Hilltop 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 | 66% | 53.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 56.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 603 |
| 2023/24 | 592 |
| 2024/25 | 642 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hilltop Primary School compares
Hilltop Primary School ranked 12th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 5.4% | 26.7% | 658 | — |
| Southgate Primary | 45% | 6% | 36.1% | 267 | 0.2 miles |
| Broadfield Primary Academy | 77% | 6.2% | 34.7% | 502 | 0.5 miles |
| St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, Crawley | 67% | 4.3% | 11.4% | 415 | 0.6 miles |
| Desmond Anderson Primary Academy | 51% | 5.5% | 23.9% | 434 | 0.6 miles |
| Seymour Primary School | 77% | 4.7% | 32% | 455 | 0.6 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)
- 26.7%
- English as an additional language
- 26%
- Overall absence
- 5.4%
- Persistent absence
- 11.34%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Southgate Primary0.2 miles
Primary · Crawley
-
Broadfield Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Crawley
-
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, Crawley0.6 miles
Primary · Crawley
-
Desmond Anderson Primary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Crawley
-
Seymour Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Crawley
Other schools in Crawley
Hilltop Primary School ranks 3rd of the 23 ranked primary schools in Crawley.
- Broadfield Primary Academy Primary
- Brook Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Crawley Down Village CofE School Primary
- Desmond Anderson Primary Academy Primary
- Fairway Infant School, Copthorne Primary
- Forge Wood Primary School Primary
- Gossops Green Primary Primary
- Langley Green Primary Primary
- Maidenbower Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Maidenbower Junior School Primary
- Milton Mount Primary School Primary
- Northgate Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Hilltop Primary School teach?
- Hilltop Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Crawley.
- Who is the headteacher of Hilltop Primary School?
- The headteacher of Hilltop Primary School is Mrs Abby MCNIVEN Mr Ross FARNDON, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Hilltop Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hilltop 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 Hilltop Primary School?
- Hilltop Primary School has 658 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Hilltop Primary School full?
- Hilltop Primary School has capacity for 630 pupils and 658 on roll (104%), 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 Hilltop Primary School a faith school?
- No. Hilltop Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Hilltop Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Hilltop Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Hilltop Primary School?
- Hilltop Primary School is part of THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Hilltop Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 66% in 2022/23 and 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hilltop Primary School rank locally?
- Hilltop Primary School ranked 12th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hilltop Primary School's absence rate?
- Hilltop Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hilltop Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hilltop 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 1 July 2026.