Varndean School - The School Companion

Varndean School

Brighton and Hove · BN1 6NP

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 1487 pupils, 23% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 29.5% on SEN support Behaviour 9.2% absence rate Staff 10.7% turnover Financials £8,273 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Varndean School

General Information

Address: Balfour Road, Brighton, BN1 6NP – View on map
Phone: 01273561281
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Shelley Baker
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 350 families put it first for 279 places – 13 for every 10 places. 73% of them were offered a place. 1 of the 279 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 14 · 2024 16 · 2025 14 · 2026 13
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1487 pupils out of 1500 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 342
% eligible for free school meals: 23.0%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (less mixed than the Brighton and Hove average)
English as an additional language: 9% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 10.7% a year (Brighton and Hove 13.3%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 43% moved to another school, 57% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Brighton and Hove: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 12 (0.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 39 (3.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 14 (1.1 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 Brighton and Hove, 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.

Attendance

Overall absence: 9.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 21.9%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 29.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 6.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Autistic spectrum disorder: 138 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 119 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 96 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 58 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 15 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 52 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 25 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 10 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Vision impairment: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 48.8
Compared with the area: 1.6 points above the Brighton and Hove average (47.2)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (+4.4 points against an expected 44.4)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 73% (Brighton and Hove 68%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolBrighton and Hove averageEngland↘ Falling Down 5.7 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 1.6 points above the Brighton and Hove average (47.2).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

5th of 10 secondary schools in Brighton and Hove for Attainment 8

#3Blatchington Mill School51.0
#4Cardinal Newman Catholic School50.4
#5Varndean School48.8
#6Patcham High School45.5
#7Portslade Aldridge Community Academy42.7

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1King's School53.7
#2Dorothy Stringer School53.3
#3Blatchington Mill School51.0
#4Cardinal Newman Catholic School50.4
#5Varndean School48.8
#6Patcham High School45.5
#7Portslade Aldridge Community Academy42.7
#8Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre41.1
#9Brighton Aldridge Community Academy36.2
#10Longhill High School32.9

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 96.0%
Went into further education: 94.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
History
Geography
Spanish
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Sociology
French Language
Art & Design
Speech & Drama
D & T
Media Studies
Food Technology
Dance: General
Statistics
Computer Science
Music Studies (General)
German
Sports Studies
Chinese
Astronomy
Greek
Persian Language
Urdu
Portuguese
Italian
Arabic

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

5th of 6 secondary schools in Brighton and Hove for Ofsted rating

#3Dorothy Stringer SchoolGood
#4Patcham High SchoolGood
#5Varndean SchoolGood
#6Longhill High SchoolRequires improvement

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Blatchington Mill SchoolGood
#2Cardinal Newman Catholic SchoolGood
#3Dorothy Stringer SchoolGood
#4Patcham High SchoolGood
#5Varndean SchoolGood
#6Longhill High SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,273 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

4th of 10 secondary schools in Brighton and Hove for spending per pupil

#2Longhill High School£10,591
#3Brighton Aldridge Community Academy£8,839
#4Varndean School£8,273
#5Portslade Aldridge Community Academy£8,113
#6Dorothy Stringer School£8,111

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre£10,659
#2Longhill High School£10,591
#3Brighton Aldridge Community Academy£8,839
#4Varndean School£8,273
#5Portslade Aldridge Community Academy£8,113
#6Dorothy Stringer School£8,111
#7Patcham High School£7,883
#8Blatchington Mill School£7,762
#9Cardinal Newman Catholic School£7,367
#10King's School£7,090

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

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Brighton and Hove: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered