Oriel High School, Crawley

In its own words: "Students contribute to success, their own and that of the school community, when they exhibit our learning behaviours: We believe that all members of our school community should be learning for life. All should feel empowered to achieve and inspired to excel."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Oriel Sixth Form is an exciting, supportive and innovative place to spend your post-16 studies. We work with our students to build upon the foundations from years 7-11 at Oriel High School or elsewhere, increasing the expectation of students to work independently whilst using your relationships with expert teachers and tutors to enhance your progression."

In 2026, pupils at Oriel High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.2 in West Sussex and 47 across England.

43% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 47% in West Sussex and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 45.4.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.1: pupils made about 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 30.5, against 48.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.7 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 30 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and Business Studies.

For September 2026 entry, 247 families put Oriel High School as their first choice and 649 named it as one of their preferences, for 260 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 26 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Oriel High School are Hazelwick School (1.4 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 46.3); Thomas Bennett Community College (1.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 37.4); St Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School, Crawley (2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46); and Holy Trinity CofE Secondary School, Crawley (2.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 40.2).

Oriel High School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.

230 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Oriel High School (as of September 2025): 87% would recommend the school, 87% say their child is happy there and 70% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (87%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (70%).

Of the 235 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 86% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 26% to a further education college, 6% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 126 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 34% went on to university or other higher education, 6% to apprenticeships and 45% into work. 7% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

13.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 9.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (69%), Asian (9%) and Mixed (8%).

Oriel High School has a resourced provision for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia: 24 places, 16 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Three Bridges Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Oriel School (opposite), 90 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 165 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in West Sussex (103), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Oriel High School issued 86 suspensions, 5.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Oriel High School are Brook Infant School and Nursery (0.2 miles), Maidenbower Junior School (0.3 miles), Maidenbower Infant School and Nursery (0.3 miles) and St Andrew's CofE Primary School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.