Varndean School
Balfour Road, Brighton, BN1 6NP
1,487 pupils · 99% of 1,500 capacity
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Does not apply
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Free school meals
- 23%
Ofsted
Good (2022) — Rated under the pre-September 2024 inspection system
This school has not yet been inspected under the report-card system introduced in November 2025. When it is, this section will show a grade for each area — Ofsted says the new grades do not map onto the old ones, so we do not predict them.
Inspected 5 October 2022, published 15 November 2022. Read the full Ofsted report
England has three coexisting inspection systems — how we translate them into one signal.
Exam results
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 48.8 |
| Grade 5 or above in English & maths (strong pass) | 55.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English & maths (standard pass) | 72.9% |
| Entering the English Baccalaureate | 67.6% |
Progress 8 is not published nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26 while KS2 baselines are missing (no SATs in 2020/21). It returns from 2026/27.
“Not published (small cohort)” means the DfE suppressed the figure to protect small cohorts — it is not a zero.
Will my child get in?
Roughly one first choice per place — 1.25 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 279 | 350 | 1,076 | 279 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 285 | 411 | 977 | 285 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 278 | 435 | 1,031 | 278 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 291 | 401 | 1,045 | 291 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 303 | 436 | 1,073 | 303 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 294 | 379 | 1,080 | 294 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 291 | 293 | 1,026 | 291 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 290 | 294 | 1,061 | 290 |
First-choice demand varies year to year, and the school’s admission criteria — not demand — decide who is offered a place. Use this as a rough signal, never a prediction.
Nearby alternatives
- Dorothy Stringer School 0.5 km · Good (2023) · previous system
- Patcham High School 1.4 km · Good — confirmed 2023 · previous system
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School 2.1 km · No overall grade (2024)
- Brighton Aldridge Community Academy 3.1 km · No overall grade (2025)
- Blatchington Mill School 3.2 km · Good — confirmed 2022 · previous system
- Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre 3.2 km · Most areas: Expected standard (2026)
Straight-line distance — not travel time, and not a catchment. Same phase, open schools only.
Data from DfE and Ofsted open data (OGL v3) — sources. School record updated 10 July 2026. Report incorrect data.