Midhurst Rother College

Midhurst Rother College is delivering an exceptional educational experience, reflected in its outstanding performance across all inspection domains. The school has a strong focus on high academic ambitions for all students, with impressive examination results underscoring this commitment. Pupils benefit from structured support, promoting their personal development and engagement in diverse extracurricular activities. The school's climate is characterized by exemplary behavior, mutual respect, and a strong emphasis on pastoral care, creating a safe and conducive learning environment. Given that this is the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has shown resilience and dedication to improvement, particularly in addressing attendance concerns. The school is effectively supported by the United Learning Trust, which reinforces its governance and operational standards, ensuring that all pupils, including those with special educational needs, are well-served and prepared for their future transitions. Overall, the school continues to maintain an outstanding status and strives for even greater achievements in the coming years.

Strengths

• Exceptional quality of education across all subjects
• High academic ambitions and impressive examination results
• Exemplary pupil behavior and strong pastoral support
• Robust personal development and enrichment programs
• Highly structured and sequenced curriculum
• Expert teaching fostering deep subject understanding
• Positive reading culture enhancing literacy skills
• Effective support for SEND pupils ensuring equal access
• Comprehensive careers program for sixth-form students
• Strong leadership with a commitment to staff well-being

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 Midhurst Rother College attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.4% 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, 6.0% of pupils at Midhurst Rother College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 pupils were 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 Midhurst Rother College had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.1% 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, 4.5% of pupils at Midhurst Rother College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.3% 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 2024–25 Midhurst Rother College received £7,736 and spent £8,167 for each of its 1,159 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,036,000 (£894 per pupil).

Across all 93 schools of United Learning Trust, income was £8,687 and spending £8,616 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Chichester · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

Midhurst Rother College is part of United Learning Trust, which runs 98 schools. The nearest others:

• Southway Primary School Bognor Regis
• The Regis School West Sussex
• Beacon View Primary Academy Portsmouth
• The Victory Primary School Portsmouth
• Castle View Academy Portsmouth
• Shoreham Academy Shoreham-By-Sea
• Glebe Primary School Brighton
• Regents Park Community College Southampton
• Seahaven Academy Newhaven
• Ernest Bevin Academy London

What is Midhurst Rother College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Midhurst Rother College is Outstanding, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Midhurst Rother College last inspected by Ofsted?

Midhurst Rother College was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Midhurst Rother College have?

Midhurst Rother College has 1,144 pupils on roll.

What age range does Midhurst Rother College cover?

Midhurst Rother College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Midhurst Rother College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 48.8, and 55% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Midhurst Rother College?

Midhurst Rother College is at North Street, Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 9DT.