Chailey School
Secondary · Community school · Mixed · East Sussex
Mill Lane, Lewes, BN8 4PU
76
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
School remains Good
No graded inspection
Application demand
80%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
93.2%
18.1% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
862
Capacity used
Nearly full99%
870 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
80%
1st preference success rate
154 of 192 families who put it first got an offer
178
Places offered
482
Total applications
2.7
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 192 | 154 | ● 80% |
| 2nd preference | 188 | 23 | ● 12% |
| 3rd preference | 102 | 1 | ● 1% |
| Total | 482 | 178 | 37% |
1st preference success by year
East Sussex lets families list 3 preferences. 143 applications came from outside the council area (38 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Community school
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Paul Holt
- Address
- Mill Lane, South Chailey, Lewes, BN8 4PU
- Phone
- 01273890407
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Ward / constituency
- Chailey, Barcombe & Hamsey · East Grinstead and Uckfield
- Area
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 114594
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 15% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 2% | — | — |
| SEN support | 10% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
862 pupils · 870 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 26
10 February 2026
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Strong standard Achievement Expected standard Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Attendance and behaviour Strong standard Leadership and governance Strong standard Early years Not applicable Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard Post-16 provision Not applicable - 22
20 January 2022
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 888 pupils
Attendance
93.2%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
6.8%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
18.1%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.8%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
2.6%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 53.4 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.36 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 65% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 80% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 5.01 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 49.3 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 52.4% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 71.4% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 71.4% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.66 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 168 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 167 | 25% | 58% | 77% | |
| English Language | 163 | 26% | 66% | 80% | |
| English Literature | 162 | 25% | 57% | 77% | |
| Combined Science | 102 | 4% | 24% | 54% | |
| Geography | 83 | 27% | 51% | 72% | |
| History | 74 | 31% | 62% | 74% | |
| Spanish | 68 | 21% | 43% | 66% | |
| Art and Design | 62 | 10% | 47% | 82% | |
| Biology | 61 | 49% | 85% | 97% | |
| Physics | 59 | 42% | 86% | 97% | |
| Chemistry | 59 | 44% | 83% | 97% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 49 | 14% | 43% | 59% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through East Sussex council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.