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Balcombe Cofe Primary School

Primary Ages 4-11 140 pupils Haywards Heath
Ofsted: Good

Balcombe Cofe Primary School is an academy converter in Haywards Heath for pupils aged 4 to 11. It has a Church of England religious character. It has 140 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Balcombe Cofe Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2023 of its predecessor, Balcombe CofE Controlled Primary School. In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: July 2024. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 4-11
Religion Church of England
Address London Road
Balcombe
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH17 6HS
Phone 01444811403
Reference Number 150828

General Makeup

Number of pupils 140
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 50.71%
Girls: 49.29%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 7.9%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 2.9%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 28
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 25
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 30

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 11 15 26
2 10 5 15
3 11 5 16
4 11 8 19
5 6 7 13
6 13 15 28

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 90.7%
White, Other 3.6%
Irish 1.4%
White & Asian 0.7%
Unclassified 0.7%
White & Black (African) 0.7%
Mixed, Other 0.7%
Asian, Other 0.7%

This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, Balcombe CofE Controlled Primary School, inspected in April 2023.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date This school has not had an inspection yet.
Date Report
05 Jul 2024 Academy conversion letter

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 63%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 5%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 108
Maths 104
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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 14 2
Third Preference 8 0
From another Local Authority 1 0

Previous years

Sample

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Balcombe Cofe Primary School had 140 pupils for 140 places. Every place was filled.

Reception intake in the “Haywards Heath (NEARS)” planning area

West Sussex counted 156 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 150 in 2029–30, down 4%.

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 Balcombe Cofe Primary School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

2025
Authorised absence 3.0%
Unauthorised absence 0.4%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%

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, 0.0% of pupils at Balcombe Cofe Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.0
Permanent exclusions 0

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 Balcombe Cofe Primary School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20252026
Pupils per adult 14.612.8
Teachers who left state teaching 17.5%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 22.2%–
Sick days per teacher 0.8–

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, 18.6% of pupils at Balcombe Cofe Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 9 0
Moderate learning difficulty 8 0
Social, emotional and mental health 6 0
Specific learning difficulty 1 1
Autistic spectrum disorder 1 0
No specialist assessment of need 1 0

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 primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Balcombe Cofe Primary School received £6,377 and spent £6,520 for each of its 141 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £66,000 (£465 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Hurst Education Trust Limited, income was £5,584 and spending £5,780 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2025
Revenue reserve £66,000
per pupil £465
In-year balance -£20,000
per pupil -£143

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.

Name Distance
St Peter's CofE Primary School
Holmans, Street Lane, Ardingly, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6UQ
2.32 miles
St. Mark's CofE Primary School
Brantridge Lane, Staplefield, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6EN
2.38 miles
Brantridge School
Staplefield Place, Staplefield, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6EQ
2.63 miles
Handcross Primary School
London Road, Handcross, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6HB
2.79 miles
Brook Infant School and Nursery
Salterns Road, Maidenbower, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 7JE
3.08 miles
Woodgate Primary Academy
41 Bellevue Farm Road, Pease Pottage, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 9GT
3.09 miles
Maidenbower Junior School
Harvest Road, Maidenbower, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 7RA
3.31 miles
Maidenbower Infant School and Nursery
Harvest Road, Maidenbower, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 7RA
3.36 miles
The Oaks Primary School & Nursery
Loppets Road, Tilgate, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 5DP
3.41 miles
Desmond Anderson Primary Academy
Anderson Road, Tilgate, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 5EA
3.46 miles
St Andrew's CofE Primary School
Weald Drive, Furnace Green, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 6NU
3.57 miles
Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Cuckfield
Glebe Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 5BQ
3.58 miles
Harlands Primary School
Penland Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 1PJ
3.59 miles
Turners Hill Church of England Primary School
Church Road, Turners Hill, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 4PA
3.62 miles
West Hoathly CofE Primary School
North Lane, West Hoathly, West Hoathly Ce Primary School, North Lane, Select, West Sussex, RH19 4QG
3.74 miles
Broadfield Primary Academy
Vulcan Close, Broadfield, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 9PD
3.75 miles
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, Crawley
Southgate Drive, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 6HD
3.9 miles
Southgate Primary
Barrington Road, Southgate, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 6DG
3.91 miles
Cottesmore School
Buchan Hill, Crawley, RH11 9AU
3.95 miles
Hilltop Primary School
Ditchling Hill, Southgate West, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 8QL
4.05 miles
Name Distance
Worth School
Paddockhurst Road, Crawley, RH10 4SD
2.29 miles
Ardingly College
College Road, Haywards Heath, RH17 6SQ
2.31 miles
Brighton College Prep Handcross
London Road, Haywards Heath, RH17 6HF
2.62 miles
Philpots Manor School
[Postcode RH19 4PR], West Hoathly, West Sussex, RH19 4PR
2.9 miles
Oriel High School
Matthews Drive, Maidenbower, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 7XW
3.24 miles
Thomas Bennett Community College
Ashdown Drive, Tilgate, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 5AD
3.57 miles
Atelier21 Future School
Broadfield Park, Brighton Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 9RZ
3.6 miles
Warden Park Secondary Academy
Broad Street, Cuckfield, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 5DP
3.92 miles
Oathall Community College
Appledore Gardens, Lindfield, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 2AQ
4.21 miles
Serenity School Crawley
Atlantic House, Hazelwick Avenue, Three Bridges, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1QQ
4.27 miles
Holy Trinity CofE Secondary School, Crawley
Buckswood Drive, Gossops Green, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 8JE
4.46 miles
Manor Green College
Lady Margaret Road, Ifield, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 0DX
4.52 miles
St Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School, Crawley
St Wilfrid's Way, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 8PG
4.52 miles
Hazelwick School
Hazelwick School Close, Three Bridges, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1SX
4.66 miles
Step by Step School Limited
Neylands Farm, Grinstead Lane, Sharpthorne, East Sussex, RH19 4HP
4.99 miles

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

Balcombe Cofe Primary School is part of Hurst Education Trust Limited, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

What is Balcombe Cofe Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Balcombe Cofe Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2023 of its predecessor, Balcombe CofE Controlled Primary School.

When was Balcombe Cofe Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Balcombe Cofe Primary School was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Balcombe Cofe Primary School have?

Balcombe Cofe Primary School has 140 pupils on roll.

What age range does Balcombe Cofe Primary School cover?

Balcombe Cofe Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Balcombe Cofe Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Balcombe Cofe Primary School?

Balcombe Cofe Primary School is at London Road, Balcombe, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6HS.

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