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Willingdon Primary School

Primary · Eastbourne · BN20 9RJ

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 4 June 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

421 pupils · 100% of 420 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Community school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
17.3% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
3.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
11.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
https://willingdonprimary.co.uk/
URN
114422

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 44 families named it first for 47 Reception places, 0.94 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2025 entry went to 1523 m (≈0.95 mi); distance decided places in 4 of the 10 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2017 to 2026. Ofsted last graded it Good on 4 June 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.94 first-choice applications per place

47 places offered · 44 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2025 entry, the most recent year with a distance-only cutoff) lived within 1523 m (≈0.95 mi)

measured in a straight line.

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Would you have got in? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed: your postcode against this school's cutoff history. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools you would be inside, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

60 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
63%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
10%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
106
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
105
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school63%
Median of its 12 closest peers73.5%
East Sussex average60.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Blakehill Primary SchoolBradford · 225 miles awayGood75%
Rowley Lane Junior Infant and Nursery SchoolHuddersfield · 212 miles awayNo current grade81%
South Failsworth Community Primary SchoolManchester · 212 miles awayGood52%
Hordle CofE (VA) Primary SchoolLymington · 81 miles awayOutstanding76%
Aston Clinton SchoolAylesbury · 80 miles awayGood54%
St Martin's CofE Primary SchoolDorking · 39 miles awayGood76%
Elworth CofE Primary SchoolSandbach · 197 miles awayGood73%
Park Lane Primary & Nursery SchoolPeterborough · 122 miles awayGood57%
Coleham Primary SchoolShrewsbury · 183 miles awayOutstanding75%
Firside Junior SchoolNorwich · 136 miles awayNo current grade71%
Goosewell Primary AcademyPlymouth · 192 miles awayGood71%
St Mark's Church of England Primary SchoolStockton-on-Tees · 268 miles awayExpected standard74%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
11 of 11 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 90% (East Sussex 81%, England 60%) · Any other White background 3% (East Sussex 5%, England 7%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (East Sussex 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (East Sussex 1%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 1% (East Sussex 1%, England 2%) · other groups together 3%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.3%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
13.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

1.20 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · East Sussex: 2.91 suspensions and 0.08 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
22.9
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

88% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 6% moved to another state school · 6% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

61.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.6 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,954; 12.5% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£6,088
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 77% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 4% (3%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £236,018; in-year balance -£13,619

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher30.8%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications15.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work40.9%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways11.5%18.1%
Residents in very good health45.7%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier92.1%62.3%
Social housing0.6%17.1%
Privately rented7.3%20.5%
Detached houses47.8%22.9%
Flats3.3%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms22.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van11.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01021234 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£338,000289 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£290,000–£420,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (107)£395,000
Semi-detached (127)£336,000
Terraced (32)£300,000
Flat (23)£195,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Reception cutoff distance (1.52 km, 2025 entry): 571 sales, median £340,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
4an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
9an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
3an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools