Worthing High School
South Farm Road, Worthing, BN14 7AR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- SOUTH DOWNS EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Adrian Cook
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- East Worthing and Shoreham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,122
- Pupils on roll
- 1,050
- URN
- 139109
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01903237864
About this school
Worthing High School is a secondary academy in Worthing. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,050 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Worthing High School, 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 5 March 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 225 | 214 | 209 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.8 | 48.2 | 48.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.08 -0.10 to +0.27 | +0.11 -0.08 to +0.31 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 49.1% | 46.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 71% | 71.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 48% | 48.1% | 48.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
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 Worthing High 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 | 47.8 | 37.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.2 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.6 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,075 |
| 2023/24 | 1,064 |
| 2024/25 | 1,055 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Worthing High School compares
Worthing High School ranked 17th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 71% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.6 | 8.9% | 15.7% | 1,050 | — |
| Bohunt School Worthing | 46.7 | 8.3% | 18.1% | 900 | 0.3 miles |
| St Andrew's CofE High School | 41.7 | 11.1% | 25.2% | 780 | 0.6 miles |
| Davison Church of England High School for Girls, Worthing | 52.1 | 8.3% | 14.1% | 1,334 | 1.1 miles |
| Durrington High School | 49.8 | 8.9% | 20.2% | 1,572 | 1.2 miles |
| St Oscar Romero Catholic School | 55.1 | 5.2% | 13.9% | 1,144 | 2.4 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)
- 15.73%
- English as an additional language
- 8.5%
- Overall absence
- 8.86%
- Persistent absence
- 21.52%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bohunt School Worthing0.3 miles
Secondary · Worthing
-
St Andrew's CofE High School0.6 miles
Secondary · Worthing
-
Davison Church of England High School for Girls, Worthing1.1 miles
Secondary · Worthing
-
Durrington High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Worthing
-
St Oscar Romero Catholic School2.4 miles
Secondary · Worthing
Other schools in Worthing
Worthing High School ranks 4th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Worthing.
- Bohunt School Worthing Secondary
- Davison Church of England High School for Girls, Worthing Secondary
- Durrington High School Secondary
- St Andrew's CofE High School Secondary
- St Oscar Romero Catholic School Secondary
- Bramber Primary School Primary
- Broadwater CofE Primary School Primary
- Clapham and Patching CofE Primary School Primary
- Downsbrook Primary School Primary
- Durrington Infant School Primary
- Durrington Junior School Primary
- Elm Grove Primary School, Worthing Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Worthing High School teach?
- Worthing High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Worthing.
- Who is the headteacher of Worthing High School?
- The headteacher of Worthing High School is Mr Adrian Cook, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Worthing High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Worthing High 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 many pupils are at Worthing High School?
- Worthing High School has 1,050 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Worthing High School full?
- Worthing High School has capacity for 1,122 pupils and 1,050 on roll (94%), 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 Worthing High School a faith school?
- No. Worthing High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Worthing High School a selective school?
- No. Worthing High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Worthing High School part of an academy trust?
- Worthing High School is part of SOUTH DOWNS EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Worthing High School have?
- The schools register lists Worthing High School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Worthing High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.8 in 2022/23 and 48.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Worthing High School compare with other schools in West Sussex?
- Worthing High School ranked 17th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 71% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Worthing High School's absence rate?
- Worthing High School's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Worthing High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Worthing High 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 2 July 2026.