Holmbush Primary Academy

About Holmbush Primary Academy

Holmbush Primary Academy sits in the middle of the pack when you compare its headline Key Stage 2 results against the West Sussex local authority average. The school recorded 62% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is six percentage points above the LA average of 56%. That gap is meaningful for a primary school of this size, and it suggests the school is delivering slightly stronger core outcomes than many of its neighbours. In the Adur district specifically, Holmbush ranks 6th out of 11 primary schools on this metric, placing it just above the halfway mark locally. Nationally, it sits around the 52nd percentile, so it’s broadly in line with the national picture too. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in November 2023, confirmed it remains Good across all graded areas, including early years provision, leadership and management, and overall effectiveness — a rating it has held consistently since its last graded inspection in 2018.

Digging into the individual subject scores gives a more nuanced picture. In reading, 79% of pupils met the expected standard and the average scaled score was 106, which is solid. Maths followed closely with 76% at expected and an average score of 104. Writing was the weaker area, with only 62% reaching the expected standard, and no pupils achieved the higher standard in either writing or the combined reading, writing and maths measure. That said, 34% of pupils hit the higher standard in reading and 21% did so in maths, which is respectable. The school doesn’t publish progress scores for any of the three core subjects, so it’s hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. With 12.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a slightly above-average proportion of disadvantaged children compared with the national primary average, and its results suggest these pupils are being supported reasonably well.

Holmbush is a popular school in Shoreham-by-Sea, and the numbers back that up. For Reception entry in 2025/26, the school received 74 applications for just 22 places, with all 22 first-preference families offered a spot — an oversubscription ratio of 3.36 to one. That level of demand means it’s worth applying early if you live nearby. The school has a nursery provision for children from age two, which can be a practical advantage for local families. Facilities include a forest school, playing fields, an ICT suite and a chapel, and the SEND provision covers a broad range of needs including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and social, emotional and mental health support. With 204 pupils on roll against a capacity of 226, there is a little headroom, but the oversubscription data suggests that spare capacity is unlikely to last. This is a solid, well-regarded local primary that performs slightly above the LA average and is clearly trusted by local parents.

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