The Burgess Hill Academy
Station Road, Burgess Hill, RH15 9EA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Karen Clinton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- University of Brighton
- Constituency
- Mid Sussex
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 956
- URN
- 142089
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01444241691
About this school
The Burgess Hill Academy is a secondary academy in Burgess Hill. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 956 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Burgess Hill 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 December 2024, where inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection. 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 | 175 | 232 | 209 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.2 | 40.4 | 44.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.10 -0.31 to +0.11 | -0.46 -0.65 to -0.27 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 39.2% | 48.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 59.9% | 65.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 13% | 18.1% | 26.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
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 The Burgess Hill 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 | 44.2 | 37.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.4 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.6 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,068 |
| 2023/24 | 1,081 |
| 2024/25 | 1,018 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Burgess Hill Academy compares
The Burgess Hill Academy ranked 25th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.6 | 10% | 16% | 956 | — |
| St Paul's Catholic College | 55.5 | 5.8% | 9.3% | 1,160 | 1.4 miles |
| Downlands Community School | 57.3 | 7.6% | 8.3% | 1,250 | 2.1 miles |
| Warden Park Secondary Academy | 52.4 | 7.7% | 11.5% | 1,541 | 3.6 miles |
| Oathall Community College | 51.6 | 7.9% | 14.6% | 1,341 | 4.2 miles |
| Chailey School | 49.3 | 6.9% | 13.3% | 862 | 4.7 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)
- 16.01%
- English as an additional language
- 7.6%
- Overall absence
- 9.99%
- Persistent absence
- 22.22%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Paul's Catholic College1.4 miles
Secondary · Burgess Hill
-
Downlands Community School2.1 miles
Secondary · Hassocks
-
Warden Park Secondary Academy3.6 miles
Secondary · Haywards Heath
-
Oathall Community College4.2 miles
Secondary · Haywards Heath
-
Chailey School4.7 miles
Secondary · Lewes
Other schools in Burgess Hill
- St Paul's Catholic College Secondary
- Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill Primary
- London Meed Community Primary School Primary
- Oak Tree Primary School Primary
- Sheddingdean Community Primary School Primary
- Southway Junior School Primary
- St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School Primary
- The Gattons Infant School Primary
- Hambrook School Special schools
- West Sussex Alternative Provision College Local authority maintained schools
- Woodlands Meed Special schools
- Burgess Hill Girls Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does The Burgess Hill Academy teach?
- The Burgess Hill Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Burgess Hill.
- Who is the headteacher of The Burgess Hill Academy?
- The headteacher of The Burgess Hill Academy is Mrs Karen Clinton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Burgess Hill Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Burgess Hill 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 The Burgess Hill Academy?
- The Burgess Hill Academy has 956 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Burgess Hill Academy full?
- The Burgess Hill Academy has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 956 on roll (80%), 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 The Burgess Hill Academy a faith school?
- No. The Burgess Hill Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Burgess Hill Academy a selective school?
- No. The Burgess Hill Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Burgess Hill Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Burgess Hill Academy is part of UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Burgess Hill Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.2 in 2022/23 and 44.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Burgess Hill Academy compare with other schools in West Sussex?
- The Burgess Hill Academy ranked 25th of 38 secondary schools in West Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Burgess Hill Academy's absence rate?
- The Burgess Hill Academy's overall absence rate is 10% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Burgess Hill Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Burgess Hill 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 2 July 2026.