Secondary
Varndean School
Balfour Road, Brighton, BN1 6NP
Key facts
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 1487 of 1500 places
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
Ofsted
Last inspected October 2022
Good
- Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
- Leadership and governanceOutstanding
- Personal developmentOutstanding
- Quality of educationGood
Inspected under the previous framework, which used its own four-point scale. Ofsted now publishes a report card grading several areas separately, so these grades are not directly comparable with a recent inspection’s.
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)GCSE results
56%
48.8
2nd of 6 by our score, among the secondary schools in Brighton we can score - see them all. Local and same-phase on purpose: a national table mostly measures who attends.
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 48.8 |
| EBacc average point score | 4.54 |
| Entered the EBacc | 68% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time4 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 71% |
| 22/23 | 68% |
| 23/24 | 66% |
| 24/25 | 56% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | +0.41 |
| 22/23 | +0.36 |
| 23/24 | +0.42 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 57.3 |
| 22/23 | 54.5 |
| 23/24 | 53.5 |
| 24/25 | 48.8 |
Balfour Road, Brighton, BN1 6NP
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 31 October, the year before starting.
Brighton and Hove admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Headteacher
- Shelley Baker
- Address
- Balfour Road, Brighton, BN1 6NP
- Telephone
- 01273561281