Longhill High School, Brighton

Ofsted's report card from its 9 June 2026 inspection grades Longhill High School on 6 areas: 2 expected standard and 4 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders work hard to break down barriers to learning."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The school's curriculum expands far beyond the classroom."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Pupils do not achieve as well as they should."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Pupils do not attend well enough."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Staff do not implement the curriculum consistently well."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "Leaders' efforts to address historic weaknesses have had mixed success."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "All leaders should check the impact of their actions carefully and adjust their strategies in response for maximum success"; "Leaders should ensure that staff use assessment effectively in lessons to identify gaps in pupils' understanding or skills and adapt teaching to address these gaps and help pupils to achieve as well as they should"; "Leaders must sustain and build on recent work to improve attendance so that pupils attend as well as they should over time"; "Leaders should ensure that all staff receive the support they need to be confident in applying the school's expectations around teaching consistently well".

In its own words: "As Headteacher, I am very proud to welcome you to Longhill High School. At Longhill High School, we believe in supporting every child, regardless of their starting point, to reach their individual potential. This means that we enable different academic pathways for our young people, and we offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities to inspire them."

Coming up: an open day on Saturday 8 May 2027. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Longhill High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 36.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.7 in Brighton and Hove and 47 across England.

23% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 47% in Brighton and Hove and 47% in England.

That is up from 32.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.7: pupils made well below 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 30.4, against 39.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 8.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 24 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 70 families put Longhill High School as their first choice and 146 named it as one of their preferences, for 93 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Longhill High School are Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (2.9 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 33.2); Peacehaven Community School (3.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.3); Varndean School (3.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 54.7); and Dorothy Stringer School (3.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50.5).

Longhill High School's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

Of the 169 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 79% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 41% to a further education college, 6% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

43.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 7.9% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (81%) and Mixed (5%).

In 2026, 196 pupils (31%) received SEN support and 24 (3.8%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

Longhill High School has a resourced provision for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia: 14 places, 14 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Moulsecoomb Rail Station, about 2.9 miles away in a straight line.

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Longhill School Grounds (in), 50 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Longhill High School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 40 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and burglary. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Brighton and Hove (366).

In 2024/25, Longhill High School issued 472 suspensions, 65.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Longhill High School are Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery (0.9 miles); Our Lady of Lourdes RC School (1 mile); St Margaret's CofE Primary School, Rottingdean (1 mile); and Woodingdean Primary School (1.2 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.