The Forest School
Secondary · Horsham · RH13 5NT
Data updated
Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection
Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.
Inspected 26 January 2022
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
1,115 pupils · 98% of 1,140 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Free school meals
- 12.7% of pupils (January 2026)
- URN
- 151923
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 204 families named it first for 216 Year 7 places, 0.94 first choices per place. We hold 7 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2020 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 26 January 2022 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 7.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026
0.94 first-choice applications per place216 places offered · 204 first-choice applications · roughly balanced
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures.
Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7
Cutoff by admission criterion (2026 entry)
- Criterion 4c
- 4011.46 m (≈2.49 mi)
Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Horsham school admissions · West Sussex school admissions
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 79% (West Sussex 74%, England 59%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (West Sussex 2%, England 3%) · Any other White background 4% (West Sussex 7%, England 7%) · Not recorded 2% (West Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (West Sussex 2%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 2% (West Sussex 2%, England 3%) · Black African 1% (West Sussex 2%, England 5%) · Asian Indian 1% (West Sussex 2%, England 4%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 5%) · 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)
Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms · how absence is measured
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 1.62% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £51,729; 9.2% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%
Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 49.3% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 8.3% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 53.8% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 5.9% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 53.8% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 93.9% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 0.7% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 5.4% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 78.6% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 0.8% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 64.2% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 5.7% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01031640 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £472,500304 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £360,000–£634,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
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
- 5an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 7an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 2an 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