River Beach Primary School
York Road, Littlehampton, BN17 6EW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SCHOOLSWORKS ACADEMY TRUST
- Head of School
- Mr Dave Ayers
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Schoolsworks Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 700
- Pupils on roll
- 665
- URN
- 140089
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01903725500
About this school
River Beach Primary School is a primary academy in Littlehampton. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 665 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- 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 | 92 | 82 | 84 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 62% | 58% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 5% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 73% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 84% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 70% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.60 | - | - |
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 River Beach 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 | 63% | 53.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 58% | 56.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 676 |
| 2023/24 | 674 |
| 2024/25 | 677 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How River Beach Primary School compares
River Beach Primary School ranked 112th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58% | 7% | 27.4% | 665 | — |
| White Meadows Primary Academy | 64% | 8.2% | 35.8% | 616 | 0.4 miles |
| St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Littlehampton | — | 7.2% | 18.9% | 216 | 0.4 miles |
| Lyminster Primary School | 50% | 6.1% | 25.9% | 205 | 0.6 miles |
| Rustington Community Primary School | 56% | 4.8% | 8.5% | 554 | 1.3 miles |
| Summerlea Community Primary School | — | 5.2% | 12.1% | 377 | 1.3 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 27.37%
- English as an additional language
- 18%
- Overall absence
- 7.03%
- Persistent absence
- 19.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
White Meadows Primary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Littlehampton
-
St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Littlehampton0.4 miles
Primary · Littlehampton
-
Lyminster Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Littlehampton
-
Rustington Community Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Littlehampton
-
Summerlea Community Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Littlehampton
Other schools in Littlehampton
River Beach Primary School ranks 5th of the 9 ranked primary schools in Littlehampton.
- East Preston Infant School Primary
- East Preston Junior School Primary
- Georgian Gardens Community Primary School Primary
- Lyminster Primary School Primary
- Rustington Community Primary School Primary
- St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Littlehampton Primary
- St Margaret's CofE Primary School Primary
- St Mary's CofE Primary School Primary
- St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School Primary
- Summerlea Community Primary School Primary
- White Meadows Primary Academy Primary
- The Angmering School Secondary
Recorded changes at this school
Previous head of school: Mrs Rhona Wilkinson (until July 2026).
- Headteacher changed from Mrs Rhona Wilkinson to Mr Dave Ayers recorded 16 Jul 2026
Common questions
- What year groups does River Beach Primary School teach?
- River Beach Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Littlehampton.
- Who is the head of school of River Beach Primary School?
- The head of school of River Beach Primary School is Mr Dave Ayers, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was River Beach Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected River Beach 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 River Beach Primary School?
- River Beach Primary School has 665 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is River Beach Primary School full?
- River Beach Primary School has capacity for 700 pupils and 665 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is River Beach Primary School a faith school?
- No. River Beach Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does River Beach Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records River Beach Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs River Beach Primary School?
- River Beach Primary School is part of SCHOOLSWORKS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does River Beach Primary School have?
- The schools register lists River Beach Primary School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have River Beach Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 58% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does River Beach Primary School rank locally?
- River Beach Primary School ranked 112th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is River Beach Primary School's absence rate?
- River Beach Primary School's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are River Beach Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, River Beach 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 16 July 2026.