SCHOOL PROFILE

Ditchling St Margaret's Church of England Primary School

Primary Academy converter URN 148917
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 161 Published school capacity
Capacity used 150.9% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 2 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

12 March 2025
Latest published outcome Standards maintained
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority East Sussex
Trust HURST EDUCATION TRUST LIMITED
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 243 229 full-time · 14 part-time
Female pupils 132 54.3% of pupils
Male pupils 111 45.7% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

5.8%
19.0 pts below England
School 5.8%
Lewes 19.7%
South East 19.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

2.5%
17.8 pts below England
School 2.5%
Lewes 6.3%
South East 15.6%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.4%
0.6 pts below England
School 0.4%
Lewes 1.4%
South East 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
82.7%
201
Any other White background
7.0%
17
Any other Mixed background
5.3%
13
White and Black African
3.3%
8
Irish
0.8%
2
White and Asian
0.8%
2
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 14.4% 35 of 243 pupils
6.4 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 14.4%
Lewes 22.2%
South East 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 13.2% 32 pupils
England 14.8% 1.6 pts below
EHC plans 1.2% 3 pupils
England 6.0% 4.8 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Specific learning difficulty 12
Autistic spectrum disorder 8
Speech, language & communication 7
Social, emotional & mental health 5
Physical disability 2
Moderate learning difficulty 1

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

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

81.0% 20.6 pts above England
School 81.0%
Lewes 58.4%
South East 60.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

84.0%

10.2 pts above England

School 84.0%
Lewes 73.8%
South East 74.0%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

94.0%

23.7 pts above England

School 94.0%
Lewes 68.0%
South East 70.5%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

90.0%

18.0 pts above England

School 90.0%
Lewes 67.7%
South East 70.9%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.66%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.56 pts lower than England
School 4.66%
Lewes 8.03%
South East 6.30%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

6.63%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

9.19 pts lower than England
School 6.63%
Lewes 19.26%
South East 15.75%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.55%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.25 pts lower than England
School 0.55%
Lewes 3.97%
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 primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

150.9% 62.7 pts above England
Ditchling St Margaret's Church of England Primary School
150.9%
Lewes
90.0%
South East
89.5%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information