Dorothy Stringer School

Dorothy Stringer School is performing well overall, with a consistent rating of 'Good' across all inspected areas including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The school is committed to inclusivity and provides a supportive environment where pupils feel cared for and safe. Despite notable strengths in the curriculum and a broad range of extracurricular activities, there are areas for improvement, particularly in the consistency of curriculum delivery and attendance for certain pupil groups.

Strengths

• Dedicated to inclusivity and reducing barriers for pupils
• Ambitious curriculum that often exceeds national standards
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Extensive range of extracurricular clubs and activities
• High expectations for behaviour leading to a calm and respectful environment
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of curriculum across subjects
• Some groups of pupils struggling with regular attendance
• Variability in responses to low-level disruption concerns

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Dorothy Stringer School attended 89.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 30.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 4.1% of pupils at Dorothy Stringer School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Dorothy Stringer School had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.8% of pupils at Dorothy Stringer School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Dorothy Stringer School received £8,488 and spent £8,598 for each of its 1,635 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £651,000 (£398 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Brighton · Brighton and Hove local authority: places and applications

What is Dorothy Stringer School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dorothy Stringer School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Dorothy Stringer School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dorothy Stringer School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Dorothy Stringer School have?

Dorothy Stringer School has 1,626 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dorothy Stringer School cover?

Dorothy Stringer School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Dorothy Stringer School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.5, and 52% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Dorothy Stringer School?

Dorothy Stringer School is at Loder Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 6PZ.