Billingshurst Primary Academy

About Billingshurst Primary Academy

Billingshurst Primary Academy is a mixed state primary school in Horsham, West Sussex, for children aged 4 to 11. It is one of 226 primary schools in the local authority, where only seven schools currently hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating. The school’s most recent inspection in 2023 placed it in the Requires Improvement category overall, though the picture is more nuanced than that single label suggests. Among its local peers, the highest-ranked schools in the area are Barns Green Primary School and Heron Way Primary School, both scoring 86 on the local ranking metric, followed by Aldingbourne Primary School at 84. Billingshurst Primary Academy does not appear among these top peers, which positions it as a school with clear room for improvement within a competitive local landscape. With 607 pupils on roll against a capacity of 630, the school is nearly full, and its 13.2 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals is slightly above the national average, reflecting a broadly mixed intake.

Academically, the school’s Ofsted breakdown reveals a mixed performance. The quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision were all judged as Requires Improvement, while personal development and behaviour and attitudes were rated Good. This represents a slight change from the previous inspection in 2019, which also rated overall effectiveness as Requires Improvement but gave early years a lower mark of 2. The school’s most recent Key Stage 2 results are not provided in the data, but the local authority average for KS2 attainment is 56, which gives a useful benchmark for parents to compare when results become available. The school does not have a sixth form, as it is a primary phase only. With a Progress 8 score absent from the data, parents will need to look closely at future published results to gauge academic progress. The school’s admission data for 2025/26 shows it was oversubscribed, with 105 applications for 88 places and 86 first-preference offers, indicating strong local demand despite the Ofsted rating.

The school offers a solid range of facilities, including playing fields, a sports hall, music rooms, an ICT suite, a sensory room, and an outdoor playground. Sports provision covers athletics, swimming, netball, and cricket, while clubs include chess, choir, eco club, and science club. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists a broad set of SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. This suggests a school that is equipped to support a wide range of learners. The school does not offer nursery provision and is not a boarding school. Given its oversubscription and the range of facilities and SEND support, Billingshurst Primary Academy may suit families who value a well-resourced local school with a strong community feel, though those prioritising top academic outcomes may want to monitor future inspection results closely.

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