SchoolFacts.uk

Weald School, The

Secondary · Billingshurst · RH14 9RY

Data updated

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Good

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

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

Inspected 8 October 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,800 pupils · 99% of 1,812 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Community school
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
13.3% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
2.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
16.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.theweald.org.uk/
URN
126068

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 273 families named it first for 291 Year 7 places, 0.94 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 11519.11 m (≈7.16 mi); distance decided places in 2 of the 2 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2025 to 2026. At its inspection on 8 October 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.94 first-choice applications per place

291 places offered · 273 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. Places by distance, last offered at 11519.11 m (≈7.16 mi) for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 11519.11 m (≈7.16 mi)

measured in a straight line.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

296 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
47.1
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
66.9%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
48%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.1
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) B-
35.2
England 35

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school47.1
Median of its 12 closest peers51.3
West Sussex average46.6
England46.1

On attainment 8, 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.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
The Mountbatten SchoolRomsey · 44 miles awayGood51.2
John Port Spencer AcademyDerby · 138 miles awayGood51.4
Harrogate Grammar SchoolHarrogate · 210 miles awayStrong standard56.6
Imberhorne SchoolEast Grinstead · 20 miles awayGood (2019)45.1
Tadcaster Grammar SchoolTadcaster · 201 miles awayGood50
High Storrs SchoolSheffield · 168 miles awayStrong standard61
The Ashcombe SchoolDorking · 16 miles awayGood57.1
E-Act Ousedale SchoolNewport Pagnell · 74 miles awayGood49.4
Guiseley SchoolLeeds · 204 miles awayGood49.6
Sponne SchoolTowcester · 80 miles awayGood52
St Laurence SchoolBradford-on-Avon · 82 miles awayGood54.5
Ossett Academy and Sixth Form CollegeOssett · 189 miles awayStrong standard51

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 88% (West Sussex 74%, England 59%) · Any other White background 4% (West Sussex 7%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (West Sussex 2%, England 3%) · Black African 1% (West Sussex 2%, England 5%) · Not recorded 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (West Sussex 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (West Sussex 2%, England 3%) · other groups together 2%

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)
8.9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
24.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

12.67 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · West Sussex: 16.16 suspensions and 0.17 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
17.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

90% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 2% moved to another state school · 8% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained secondaries: 0.22% vacant, 0.42% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

69% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.3 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 £54,776; 5.8% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£7,359
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 78% (77%) · premises 5% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (7%) · supplies and services 8% (10%) · educational supplies 6% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (2%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve -£287,900; in-year balance +£6,601

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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

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
95%
Continuing in education
91%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
4%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
45%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
35%
Any sustained destination
88%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

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

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher33.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications11.2%18.1%
In managerial or professional work44%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways9.7%18.1%
Residents in very good health52%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier77.3%62.3%
Social housing6.1%17.1%
Privately rented16.6%20.5%
Detached houses26.8%22.9%
Flats18.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms26.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van7.9%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01035342 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£396,500335 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£307,500–£475,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (95)£565,000
Semi-detached (85)£430,000
Terraced (86)£360,000
Flat (69)£183,000

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

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (4.75 km, 2025 entry): 567 sales, median £427,500. 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
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
0a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
7a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
3a rural school averages 0.9

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