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The Forest School

General Information

  • Address: Comptons Lane, Horsham, RH13 5NT – View on map
  • Phone: 01403261086
  • Website: Visit school website
  • Headteacher: Mr Ian Straw
  • Age range: 11-16 years
  • Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 204 families put it first for 216 places – 9 for every 10 places. 91% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area.
  • Sixth form: No
  • Intake: Mixed
  • Religious character: Does not apply
  • Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1115 pupils out of 1140 places At or near capacity
  • Pupils eligible for free school meals: 142
  • % eligible for free school meals: 12.7%
  • Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Horsham average)
  • English as an additional language: 11% (England 22%)

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

Across West Sussex: suspensions by reason

  • Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 72 (1.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
  • Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
  • Suspensions for bullying: 52 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
  • Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 39 (0.8 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
  • Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in West Sussex (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

  • Pupils on SEN Support: 19.3%
  • Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.7%
  • Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

  • Specific learning difficulty: 108 pupils
  • Social, emotional and mental health: 42 pupils
  • Autistic spectrum disorder: 23 pupils
  • Speech, language and communications needs: 20 pupils
  • Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

  • Social, emotional and mental health: 10 pupils
  • Autistic spectrum disorder: 8 pupils
  • Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
  • Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
  • Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

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Headteacher Approval
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Safeguarding
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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

An Attainment 8 score for this school hasn't been added yet.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil, and how this school compares to others nearby, will appear here once we've linked in official DfE spending data.

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)