Ifield Community College

About Ifield Community College

Ifield Community College’s headline Progress 8 score of -0.2 sits below the West Sussex local authority average of 0.03, placing it in the bottom half of schools nationally. This means that, on average, pupils here achieve slightly less progress across eight GCSE subjects than their peers in other schools, and the gap is particularly noticeable in maths, where the Progress 8 score falls to -0.42. However, the picture is more mixed than a single number suggests: English progress is close to the national average at -0.07, and the school’s overall Progress 8 banding is still classed as ‘Average’ rather than ‘Below average’. In Crawley specifically, Ifield ranks 4th out of 7 secondary schools on this measure, so while it isn’t leading the pack, it’s not at the bottom either. The school’s Attainment 8 score of 41 means the average pupil leaves with the equivalent of around four GCSEs at grade 5 or above, and just over half of pupils (54.5%) achieve a grade 5 or above in both English and maths.

The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2018 rated it Good overall, a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement judgement in 2016. Leadership and management, sixth-form provision, and overall effectiveness were all graded Good. At A-level, the picture is more challenging: the school’s value-added score of -0.37 is classed as ‘Below average’, meaning students make less progress than expected from their GCSE starting points. The average A-level grade per entry is a D, and the best three A-levels average out at a C-. With 62 pupils in the sixth form, it’s a relatively small cohort, and the points per entry of 20.04 reflect a modest academic profile at KS5. For families focused on GCSE outcomes, the data suggests Ifield is a solidly average performer in the local context, but those prioritising strong sixth-form results may want to look at nearby schools with higher value-added scores.

Ifield Community College is a mixed, non-faith secondary school in Crawley for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26, there were 630 applications for 236 places, with 253 first-preference applications and 192 first-preference offers. That oversubscription ratio of 2.67 suggests strong local demand. Facilities are broad and include a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, science labs, music rooms, and a chapel. Sports on offer range from football and rugby to gymnastics and dance, while clubs include chess, coding, drama, and Model UN. The school lists five SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. This makes it a practical choice for families in Crawley who want a large, oversubscribed comprehensive with decent facilities and a Good Ofsted rating, though the academic data suggests it suits families who value steady, average progress over standout exam results.

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