William Penn School, Horsham
William Penn School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Horsham. It has a Quaker religious character. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2024. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 18th-highest of the 26 schools in Horsham with published results, and 7,071st of 14,452 across England. It was 72% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 75 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to West Sussex (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 1 Nov 2026
William Penn School in detail
William Penn School in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include guitar and coding.
The school runs after-school care until 4:15pm.
Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 82% of Year 6 pupils at William Penn School reached the expected standard in reading and 73% 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 64% in reading and 73% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at William Penn School
For September 2026 entry, 9 families put William Penn School as their first choice and 34 named it as one of their preferences, for 9 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to William Penn School are Shipley CofE Primary School (1.5 miles, Good, 60% reading, 60% maths); Barns Green Primary School (2.6 miles, Good, 95% reading, 100% maths); Billingshurst Primary Academy (2.7 miles, 79% reading, 80% maths); and Southwater Infant Academy (3.2 miles, Good).
William Penn School's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 3 schools.
Shipley CofE Primary SchoolBarns Green Primary SchoolBillingshurst Primary AcademySouthwater Infant Academy
Who goes there
11.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 1.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (87%) and Mixed (8%).
Staffing
William Penn School had 6 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Billingshurst Rail Station, about 2.4 miles away in a straight line.
3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Crossroads (n-bound), 190 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 0 crimes within a mile of the school. That is well below the typical figure around schools in West Sussex (103).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, William Penn School issued 2 suspensions, 2.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; 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 agoOverall
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?
William Penn School provides a kind and caring environment in which pupils learn to get on well together. They feel safe at school and know that adults will support them if they have any worries. Pupils value the school's small size and like the way that pupils of different ages mix. They appreciate the range of enrichment activities in addition to their lessons, such as the music workshops going on during the inspection.
The school is ambitious for all pupils to do well in their learning. It succeeds in some areas of its work, for example enabling pupils to get off to a good start in the early years and in their reading. However, pupils do not achieve well enough in some subjects across the curriculum by the time that they leave.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Early years staff plan children's learning carefully to cover the required areas, building strong foundations in key areas like reading and number. The well-organised environment supports learning. Staff are adept at teaching new skills and setting out activities that encourage children to explore further the new aspects of learning.
Older pupils receive a well-planned curriculum in the core areas of mathematics and English, but the curriculum in some other subjects is not effective enough. Pupils' learning is not always sequenced well over time to build towards the ambition of the national curriculum. The school recognised the issue this year and has started to address it, but this is at the early stages. As a result, in some subjects, teachers are not routinely able to plan their teaching to ensure pupils learn the necessary skills or knowledge.
From Ofsted's July 2024 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 Requires Improvement at its July 2024 inspection.
Rated Good for
Personal development, Early years.
Areas Ofsted flagged
Quality of education (Requires Improvement), Behaviour & attitudes (Requires Improvement), Leadership & management (Requires Improvement).
At a Glance
11.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 64% to 82% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 73% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 55% to 64% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
21.0
Avg class size
18.0
Infant (KS1)
24.0
KS2
4
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with William Penn School
Nurseries
The nearest nurseries and pre-schools to William Penn School, with their latest published grades:
- Coolham Montessori Nursery School - Pre-school, 0.3 milesOfsted, 15 June 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- St Gabriel's Playgroup - Day nursery, 2.6 milesOfsted, 1 October 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
Term dates
William Penn School is a voluntary controlled school, so its term dates are set by West Sussex. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2026 to 2027
- Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026)
- Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027)
- Summer term: Monday 12 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to William Penn School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. William Penn 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
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 1 slight.
The typical figure for schools in West Sussex is 11 (the median across 337 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight are DfT estimates (severity adjustment). Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at William Penn School
Will you get a place at William Penn School?
For 2026 entry it had 9 first choices for 9 places. The report sets your home postcode against these figures.
£9.99 once (inc. VAT; £19.99 for up to three schools), or Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time. What's in the report
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
72%
Available places
76 pupils
105 places
29 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
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: Every first choice offered
Future places in the local planning area
DfE estimates the BILLINGSHURST Primary planning area (West Sussex) will have 279 spare primary places in 2027/28.
Source: Department for Education, School capacity: Academic year 2024/25 (published 19 March 2026), estimates of future school place demand by planning area. Council pupil forecasts against reported places, counting places councils and DfE plan to add or remove; rounded to whole places. Explore Education Statistics
Inspection History(10)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
15
SEN Support
3
EHC Plans
21.4%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
84
Total Pupils
44
Boys
40
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
6
Teachers
14.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£53,192
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,369
Per pupil
£625k
Total funding
£20k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.4%
Overall absence
20.7%
Persistent absence
82
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about William Penn School
What are SATs results like at William Penn School?
Of the pupils at William Penn School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 82% reached the expected standard in reading and 73% did so in maths.
What is William Penn School's Ofsted rating?
William Penn School was rated Requires Improvement at its most recent Ofsted inspection in July 2024. At its previous graded inspection in 2015 it was rated Good.
Is it hard to get a place at William Penn School?
William Penn School was not full in 2025: it ran at 72% of its 105 places.
How big are the classes at William Penn School?
Classes at William Penn School average 21 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to William Penn School?
William Penn School has around 84 pupils on roll. 12% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at William Penn School?
6.4% of sessions were missed at William Penn School in 2024/25. 20.7% of pupils were persistently absent.
What are William Penn School's term dates?
William Penn School is a voluntary controlled school, so its term dates are set by West Sussex. In 2026 to 2027: Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026); Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027); Summer term: Monday 12 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027).
How many road collisions happen near William Penn School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 1 slight. The typical figure for schools in West Sussex is 11 (the median across 337 schools, same distance and years).
Where is William Penn School?
William Penn School is at Brooks Green Road, Coolham, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 8GR.
Sources: West Sussex term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)