OFSTED
1 May 2024
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Good
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
11 January 2023
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Published
2 March 2023
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
All-through
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
West Sussex
Trust
AURORA ACADEMIES TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
861
861 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
429
49.8% of pupils
Male pupils
432
50.2% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
3.4 pts
below England
School
21.4%
Crawley
21.9%
South East
19.0%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
13.1 pts
above England
School
33.4%
Crawley
31.2%
South East
15.6%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
4.7 pts
above England
School
5.7%
Crawley
1.0%
South East
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
41.8%
360
Any other White background
12.2%
105
Any other Mixed background
7.3%
63
Indian
7.1%
61
African
6.6%
57
Any other Asian background
5.1%
44
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
17.3%
149 of
861 pupils
3.5 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
0.7 pts
below
England
6.0%
2.8 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
39.7
0.5 pts
above England
Latest published: -0.42 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
9.15%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.93 pts
higher than
England
School
9.15%
Crawley
6.24%
South East
6.30%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
26.98%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
11.16 pts
higher than
England
School
26.98%
Crawley
16.15%
South East
15.75%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
6.85%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
5.05 pts
higher than
England
School
6.85%
Crawley
1.47%
South East
1.93%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open all-through schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
84.4%
6.7 pts
below England
The Gatwick School
84.4%
Crawley
91.3%
South East
93.0%
England
91.1%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.