Vale School, Worthing

About Vale School, Worthing

Vale School, Worthing sits within the West Sussex local authority as a state primary for mixed pupils aged 4 to 11. In the Worthing area specifically, it ranks 2nd out of 16 primary schools, placing it in the top 25% of schools nationally by its KS2 performance metric. The top-performing peers in the same authority include Barns Green Primary School, Heron Way Primary School, and Aldingbourne Primary School, all of which score slightly higher on the ranking system. Vale School is a popular choice locally: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 159 applications for 90 places, with 88 of those going to first-preference families. The school is oversubscribed by a ratio of 1.77, meaning nearly two families apply for every available spot. Its headteacher is David Tow, and the school has no religious character. With 589 pupils on roll against a capacity of 654, there is some room for growth, though demand clearly outstrips supply.

Academically, Vale School performs well above the local average. In the 2023/24 KS2 assessments, 75% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a West Sussex average of 56%. The school also excels at the higher standard: 10% of pupils achieved the higher benchmark in all three subjects, while 52% did so in reading and 33% in maths. Average scaled scores were 109 in reading and 107 in maths, both comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. Ofsted last inspected the school in March 2022 and rated it Good overall, with leadership and management judged Outstanding. The previous graded inspection in 2013 also awarded Good, and an ungraded visit in 2022 confirmed the school remains Good. The school’s most recent full inspection before that, in 2010, rated it Requires Improvement, so the trajectory has been positive. Progress scores are not available in the data, but the attainment figures speak for themselves.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including an ICT suite, art studios, a forest school, library and chapel. Sports provision covers athletics, rounders, swimming, football, cricket and cross country, while clubs include science, choir, drama, chess and art club. SEND support is comprehensive, with provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Springfield Infant School and Nursery, 4 km away. Vale School suits families who want a strong academic primary with good local reputation, a wide range of extracurricular activities, and robust SEND support, all within a non-denominational setting. Its oversubscription means early application is essential for in-catchment families.

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