Ashurst CofE Primary School, Steyning
Ashurst CofE Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Steyning. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in September 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 65th-highest of the 193 schools in West Sussex with published results, and 5,775th of 14,452 across England. It was 95% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to West Sussex (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Ashurst CofE Primary School in detail
Results
In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils at Ashurst CofE Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 80% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 72% in West Sussex and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 70% in reading and 60% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Ashurst CofE Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 9 families put Ashurst CofE Primary School as their first choice and 25 named it as one of their preferences, for 8 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 1 family who put it first was not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Ashurst CofE Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Ashurst CofE Primary School are St Peter's CofE Primary School (2.1 miles, 79% reading, 63% maths); Jolesfield CofE Primary School (2.4 miles, Good, 86% reading, 86% maths); Steyning CofE Primary School (2.6 miles, Good, 73% reading, 76% maths); and Ashington CofE Primary School (2.9 miles, Good, 73% reading, 83% maths).
Ashurst CofE Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.
St Peter's CofE Primary SchoolJolesfield CofE Primary SchoolSteyning CofE Primary SchoolAshington CofE Primary School
What parents say
17 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Ashurst CofE Primary School (as of September 2025): 100% would recommend the school, 100% say their child is happy there and 75% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school supports their child's wider development (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (75%).
Who goes there
8.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 8.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 7 pupils (14.6%) received SEN support and 1 (2.1%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Ashurst CofE Primary School had 6 teachers in 2026, one for every 9 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Ashurst CofE Primary School.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 1 crime within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in West Sussex (103).
Suspensions and exclusions
Ashurst CofE Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from January 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils enjoy coming to this village school. They are happy and build strong relationships with each other. Pupils know that staff are there to help and support them, and they know who to turn to if they have any worries. Consequently, as parents rightly summed up, it has a 'strong sense of community' and 'encourages every child to be the best they can be'.
Pupils respond eagerly to the school's high expectations and aspirations for their achievement. Pupils behave very well. They rarely need reminding to do their best and they achieve well across a broad range of subjects. When needed, the school provides additional support for pupils to enable them to take part in all aspects of school life. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has revamped many curriculum areas. In most subjects, it has identified the small steps of knowledge that it wishes pupils to learn. Learning has been carefully organised to ensure knowledge builds in a logical order over time. As a result, teachers know exactly what to teach and when. In a small number of areas, such as writing and early years, the school is still in the process of improving its curriculum.
Staff deliver the curriculum well. They have secure subject knowledge which enables them to explain new learning confidently. Teachers check effectively what pupils know and can do. They use this information to ensure that learning builds on their prior knowledge. Pupils with SEND are identified promptly, meaning staff get to know their pupils well. Teachers use this information to carefully adapt tasks and make effective use of additional resources. As a result, pupils achieve well.
From Ofsted's September 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its January 2019 inspection - down from Outstanding.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
8.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
17 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 70% to 80% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 60% to 80% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 60% to 70% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
16.0
Avg class size
3
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Ashurst CofE Primary School
Term dates
Ashurst CofE Primary School is a voluntary aided school, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see West Sussex's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Ashurst CofE Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Ashurst CofE Primary School is in West Sussex; for families living there:
Apply to West Sussex for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 1
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in West Sussex is 11 (the median across 337 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Ashurst CofE Primary School
Will you get a place at Ashurst CofE Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Ashurst CofE Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Ashurst CofE Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Ashurst CofE Primary School.
- West Sussex publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Ashurst CofE Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Ashurst CofE Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in West Sussex got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
£9.99 once
One school, inc. VAT. Or £19.99 for up to three schools.
Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time
A report for any school, plus everything else in Pro.
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
95%
Near capacity
53 pupils
56 places
3 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Steyning
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Steyning
Across West Sussex council
Places available
9,608
Applications
8,127
Got 1st preference
92.4%
Got preferred school
99.2%
All primary applications across West Sussex council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
7
SEN Support
1
EHC Plans
16.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
48
Total Pupils
28
Boys
20
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
6
Teachers
8.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,936
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£8,693
Per pupil
£485k
Total funding
£11k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.6%
Overall absence
14.3%
Persistent absence
49
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Ashurst CofE Primary School
What are SATs results like at Ashurst CofE Primary School?
Of the pupils at Ashurst CofE Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 80% reached the expected standard in reading and 80% did so in maths.
What is Ashurst CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Ashurst CofE Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in September 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Ashurst CofE Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Ashurst CofE Primary School is oversubscribed, West Sussex allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Ashurst CofE Primary School?
Ashurst CofE Primary School was close to full in 2025, at 95% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Ashurst CofE Primary School?
Classes at Ashurst CofE Primary School average 16 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Ashurst CofE Primary School?
Ashurst CofE Primary School has around 48 pupils on roll. 8% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Ashurst CofE Primary School?
7.6% of sessions were missed at Ashurst CofE Primary School in 2024/25. 14.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Ashurst CofE Primary School?
Apply through West Sussex's coordinated admissions process, naming Ashurst CofE Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Ashurst CofE Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in West Sussex is 11 (the median across 337 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Ashurst CofE Primary School?
Ashurst CofE Primary School is at School Lane, Ashurst, Steyning, West Sussex, BN44 3AY.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)