Pashley Down Infant School

About Pashley Down Infant School

Pashley Down Infant School, a state primary in Eastbourne for children aged 4 to 7, stands out in East Sussex for its strong demand and solid Ofsted record, though direct academic comparisons with the local authority average are limited by its infant-only structure. The school received a Good rating in its most recent graded inspection in 2014, and an ungraded inspection in March 2024 confirmed it remains Good, with leadership and management also judged Good. This is a notable achievement given that only 10 of the 144 primary schools in the local authority hold an Outstanding rating. The school is significantly oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 academic year, it offered 90 places and received 216 applications, a ratio of 2.4 applicants per place, with 86 offers going to first-preference families out of 97 who listed it first. This level of demand suggests strong local confidence in the school, even without published Key Stage 2 results, which are not applicable for a school that finishes at Year 2.

Because Pashley Down is an infant school, it does not produce the Progress 8 or KS2 SATs scores that the local authority average of 59 is based on. Instead, its academic focus is on the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. The school’s previous inspection in 2011 rated it Outstanding overall, with leadership and management also Outstanding, though early years provision was graded as Requires Improvement at that time. The current Good rating reflects consistent quality since the 2014 graded inspection. With 19.1% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a slightly above-average proportion of disadvantaged children for the area, yet still maintains strong parental demand and a positive inspection trajectory. The absence of a sixth form is expected given the age range, and there is no nursery provision on site.

The school offers a broad range of facilities for such a young age group, including a sports hall, gymnasium, music rooms, a sensory room, an ICT suite, and a forest school area, alongside playing fields. Sports include athletics, swimming, cross country, gymnastics, and netball, while clubs range from film and book clubs to coding, art, eco, and gardening. SEND provisions are well-documented, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication issues, and autistic spectrum disorder. With a capacity of 270 and currently 236 pupils, there is some headroom, though the oversubscription figures suggest places are fiercely contested. This school is best suited to families in Eastbourne seeking a strong, well-regarded infant school with a clear focus on early years development, a wide range of enrichment activities, and a supportive approach to SEND, but who are prepared to navigate a competitive admissions process.

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