Downlands Community School, Hassocks

Ofsted's report card from its 7 July 2026 inspection grades Downlands Community School on 6 areas: 4 strong standard and 2 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Strong standard. "Pupils achieve well."

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "Leaders' clear oversight and expectations help to ensure consistently high-quality teaching across the school."

Leadership and governance - Strong standard. "Leaders provide a clear direction for the school."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "The personal development opportunities at the school prepare pupils for life beyond school extremely well."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders have a clear focus on improving attendance and ensure that everyone has a role to play."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders identify pupils' needs accurately at this inclusive school."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should make sure that they continue to embed their successful strategies to improve pupils' attendance, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those who are persistently absent"; "Leaders should further strengthen the systems used to identify the needs of vulnerable pupils and appropriately respond to these needs, so that all these pupils achieve consistently well".

In 2026, pupils at Downlands Community School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 58.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.2 in West Sussex and 47 across England.

69% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 47% in West Sussex and 47% in England.

That is up from 57.3 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.53: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 41.2, against 60 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 18.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 26 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and History.

For September 2026 entry, 257 families put Downlands Community School as their first choice and 499 named it as one of their preferences, for 241 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 28 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Downlands Community School are The Burgess Hill Academy (2.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.7); St Paul's Catholic College (3.2 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 57.8); Patcham High School (4.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.7); and Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (4.8 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 33.2).

Downlands Community School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Of the 238 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 91% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 24% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

8.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 305 pupils (24.4%) received SEN support and 28 (2.2%) 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 a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

The nearest railway station is Hassocks Rail Station, about 600 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Downlands Community School (adjacent), 120 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Downlands Community School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 33 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, drug offences and violence and sexual offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in West Sussex (103).

In 2024/25, Downlands Community School issued 254 suspensions, 20.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Downlands Community School are The Windmills Junior School (under 0.1 miles), Hassocks Infant School (0.3 miles) and Ditchling St Margaret's Church of England Primary School (1.2 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.