Boxgrove CofE Primary School

About Boxgrove CofE Primary School

Boxgrove CofE Primary School is a small Church of England primary in Chichester that clearly commands strong local loyalty. In the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 34 applications for just 9 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.78 — meaning nearly four families applied for every spot. Of those, 10 were first-preference applications, and all 9 places went to first-preference families. That level of demand suggests parents who know the school well are keen to secure a place. The school itself is compact: it has 72 pupils on roll against a capacity of 70, so it is genuinely full. ParentView data is not available in this dataset, but the oversubscription figures alone signal strong satisfaction among local families. The school is led by headteacher Theresa Smyth and serves children aged 5 to 11, with a Church of England character that may appeal to families seeking a faith-based primary option.

Academically, Boxgrove’s most recent Key Stage 2 results from 2023/24 show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 36%, notably below the West Sussex local authority average of 56%. In individual subjects, 64% met the expected standard in reading, 45% in writing, and 36% in maths. Higher-standard attainment was limited: 9% reached the higher standard in reading, and none did so in writing or maths. Average scores were 102 in reading and 96 in maths. The school’s ranking within Chichester places it 32nd out of 38 primary schools, and nationally it sits in the bottom 5% of schools on the KS2 expected standard metric. However, Ofsted’s most recent graded inspection in June 2023 rated the school Good overall, with Good in all five categories including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — a consistent improvement from its previous Good rating in 2013.

For families considering Boxgrove, the practical offer is distinctive. The school provides a Forest School programme, a chapel, art studios, an ICT suite, a library and playing fields. Sports include swimming, dance, rounders, cricket, netball and athletics, while clubs range from art and science to coding, book club, drama and eco club. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. With only 72 pupils, class sizes are small, and the school is oversubscribed by a wide margin, so early application is essential. This is a school that will suit families who value a close-knit, faith-based community setting and are comfortable with academic outcomes that sit below local averages, balanced by a Good Ofsted rating and a strong range of enrichment opportunities.

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