Chichester Free School
Hunston Road, Chichester, PO20 1NP
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 4 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- SUSSEX LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Mr James Garner
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Sussex Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Chichester
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,020
- Pupils on roll
- 1,118
- URN
- 139668
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01243792690
About this school
Chichester Free School is an all-through academy in Chichester. It teaches children aged 4 to 19 and has 1,118 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Chichester Free 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 64 | 66 | 64 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 69% | 68% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 3% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 79% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 79% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 77% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.70 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 108 | 99 | 117 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.0 | 44.5 | 44.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.46 -0.74 to -0.18 | 0.00 -0.29 to +0.29 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 39.4% | 40.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 70.7% | 71.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 22% | 14.1% | 36.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
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 Chichester Free 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 | 69% | 53.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 68% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 56.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | West Sussex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40 | 37.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.5 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.9 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,027 |
| 2023/24 | 1,063 |
| 2024/25 | 1,078 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Chichester Free School compares
Chichester Free School ranked 24th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 57% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.9 | 8.1% | 15.3% | 1,118 | — |
| Kingsham Primary School | — | 5.2% | 33.2% | 270 | 0.3 miles |
| Chichester High School | 39 | 10.7% | 29.3% | 1,191 | 0.5 miles |
| Chichester High Schools Sixth Form | — | — | — | — | 0.6 miles |
| Rumboldswhyke CofE Primary School | — | 5.2% | 26.4% | 127 | 0.7 miles |
| North Mundham Primary School | — | 4.9% | 12.8% | 206 | 0.7 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)
- 15.31%
- English as an additional language
- 6.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.07%
- Persistent absence
- 22.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kingsham Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Chichester
-
Chichester High School0.5 miles
Secondary · Chichester
-
Chichester High Schools Sixth Form0.6 miles
Colleges · Chichester
-
Rumboldswhyke CofE Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Chichester
-
North Mundham Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Chichester
Other schools in Chichester
Chichester Free School ranks 6th of the 23 ranked primary schools in Chichester, and Chichester Free School ranks 2nd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Chichester.
- Chichester Nursery School Nursery
- Aldingbourne Primary School Primary
- Birdham CE Primary School Primary
- Bosham Primary School Primary
- Boxgrove CofE Primary School Primary
- Chidham Parochial Primary School Primary
- Compton and Up Marden CofE Primary School Primary
- East Wittering Community Primary School Primary
- Eastergate CofE Primary School Primary
- Fishbourne CofE Primary School Primary
- Funtington Primary School Primary
- Jessie Younghusband Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Chichester Free School teach?
- Chichester Free School teaches children aged 4 to 19. It is an all-through school in Chichester.
- Who is the principal of Chichester Free School?
- The principal of Chichester Free School is Mr James Garner, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Chichester Free School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Chichester Free 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 Chichester Free School?
- Chichester Free School has 1,118 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 19.
- Is Chichester Free School full?
- Chichester Free School has capacity for 1,020 pupils and 1,118 on roll (110%), 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 Chichester Free School a faith school?
- No. Chichester Free School has no designated religious character.
- Is Chichester Free School a selective school?
- No. Chichester Free School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Chichester Free School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Chichester Free School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Chichester Free School part of an academy trust?
- Chichester Free School 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.
- How have Chichester Free School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 69% in 2022/23 and 67% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Chichester Free School compare with other schools in West Sussex?
- Chichester Free School ranked 24th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 57% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Chichester Free School's absence rate?
- Chichester Free School's overall absence rate is 8.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Chichester Free School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Chichester Free 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.