Fairlight Primary School

About Fairlight Primary School

Fairlight Primary School in Brighton and Hove holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across both its most recent inspections, including an ungraded visit in June 2024 that confirmed the school remains Good and is improving. The most telling academic metric for this primary is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2. In the 2023/24 results, 55 per cent of Fairlight’s Year 6 pupils hit that combined benchmark. That figure sits just below the local authority average of 59 per cent, placing the school 29th out of 40 primaries in Brighton and Hove on this measure. While the school is in the bottom half nationally for this metric, its individual subject scores tell a more nuanced story: 73 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in maths, and 71 per cent did so in reading, both respectable figures that suggest the combined result is pulled down by writing, where 61 per cent reached the expected level.

Looking deeper into the 2023/24 results, Fairlight’s average scaled scores were 103 in maths and 105 in reading, both in line with national averages. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in reading was 27 per cent, a solid figure, though only 6 per cent achieved the higher standard in maths and just 4 per cent in writing. The school has no Progress 8 data available, so it is not possible to say how much value it adds relative to pupils’ starting points. In the local context, Fairlight sits 28th out of 48 primaries in the authority, with three schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted, the nearest being Westdene Primary School 3.8 kilometres away. The school’s ranking score of 55 places it in the bottom 50 per cent nationally, but within Brighton and Hove it is firmly in the middle of the pack, with top-performing peers like Bilingual Primary School and Hove Junior School scoring notably higher.

Fairlight is a three-form entry primary with a nursery, catering for children aged 3 to 11, and it is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 144 applications for 53 places, with 47 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.72. The school serves a community with high levels of disadvantage, as 48.9 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. Facilities include a forest school, sensory room, music rooms, art studios, an ICT suite, a gymnasium and a library, plus a chapel. Sports provision covers football, cricket, netball, dance and rounders, and clubs include choir, art, drama and chess. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for autistic spectrum disorder, speech, language and communication needs, social, emotional and mental health difficulties, dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties and physical disability. This is a school that suits families looking for a well-resourced, inclusive primary with strong pastoral support in a diverse urban setting.

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