Downlands Community School
Dale Avenue, Hassocks, BN6 8LP
1,250 pupils · 104% of 1,200 capacity
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Does not apply
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Free school meals
- 8.2%
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 4 October 2022, published 23 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 | 57.3 |
| Grade 5 or above in English & maths (strong pass) | 66.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English & maths (standard pass) | 85.7% |
| Entering the English Baccalaureate | 75.8% |
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 — 1.07 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 241 | 257 | 499 | 241 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 234 | 274 | 517 | 234 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 242 | 282 | 559 | 242 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 268 | 301 | 548 | 268 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 271 | 312 | 611 | 271 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 237 | 294 | 626 | 237 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 237 | 293 | 642 | 237 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 239 | 348 | 627 | 239 |
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
- The Burgess Hill Academy 3.4 km · Some aspects not as strong (2024)
- St Paul's Catholic College 5.1 km · Outstanding (2023) · previous system
- Patcham High School 6.6 km · Good — confirmed 2023 · previous system
- Brighton Aldridge Community Academy 7.7 km · No overall grade (2025)
- Varndean School 7.9 km · Good (2022) · previous system
- Dorothy Stringer School 8.1 km · Good (2023) · previous system
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.