Bishop Luffa School, Chichester
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,600 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.6
Community school
Downlands Community School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,250of 1,200 places
- Free school meals
- 8.2%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 231
- Ofsted
- Good, 4 October 2022Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Downlands Community School has no sixth form. Of the 234 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 59% moved to a sixth form college, 26% to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 59% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.
GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 57.3 against 46.1 across England and 46.2 in West Sussex, with 66% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
German is unusually popular at GCSE: 26% of the year group took it, against 5% of pupils across England.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in West Sussex and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Downlands Community School | West Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 234 | 8,692 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 97% | 94% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 94% | 88% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 7% | 26% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 59% | 20% | 13% |
| — further education college | 26% | 41% | 37% |
| — other education | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| Employment | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 2% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Downlands Community School | West Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 57.3 | 46.2 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 66% | 46% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 86% | 67% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 76% | 37% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.33 | 4.07 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 7% | 18% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 45.8 | 31.4 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 58.2 | 49.4 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 4% | 11% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 230 | 100% | 88% | 29% | 22% | 88% |
| English Language | 230 | 100% | 89% | 38% | 20% | 92% |
| English Literature | 229 | 99% | 86% | 24% | 21% | 88% |
| Combined Science | 195 | 84% | 65% | 18% | 9% | 79% |
| Geography | 158 | 68% | 41% | 46% | 25% | 87% |
| History | 74 | 32% | 41% | 31% | 26% | 81% |
| French | 68 | 29% | 18% | 34% | 29% | 85% |
| German | 61 | 26% | 5% | 31% | 33% | 80% |
| Fine Art | 60 | 26% | 9% | 52% | 28% | 93% |
| Computer Science | 51 | 22% | 13% | 49% | 30% | 86% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 49 | 21% | 8% | 31% | 21% | 86% |
| Spanish | 49 | 21% | 19% | 20% | 27% | 65% |
| Design and Technology | 46 | 20% | 11% | 24% | 23% | 87% |
| Drama | 36 | 16% | 7% | 39% | 27% | 92% |
| Physics | 33 | 14% | 23% | 85% | 46% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 33 | 14% | 23% | 79% | 47% | 100% |
| Biology | 33 | 14% | 23% | 88% | 45% | 100% |
| Dance | 29 | 13% | 1% | 31% | 27% | 97% |
| Physical Education | 27 | 12% | 11% | 56% | 24% | 100% |
| Religious Studies | 27 | 12% | 31% | 37% | 32% | 100% |
| Photography | 20 | 9% | 6% | 10% | 19% | 75% |
| Music | 18 | 8% | 5% | 33% | 33% | 72% |
| Classical Civilisation | 13 | 6% | 1% | 15% | 40% | 77% |
| Turkish | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 53 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 35 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 19 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in West Sussex
Bohunt School Worthing
Academy sponsor led · 900 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.7
Bourne Community College
Foundation school · 692 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.1
Chichester Free School
Free schools · 1,118 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.9
Chichester High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,191 pupils
81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.0
Davison Church of England High School for Girls, Worthing
Voluntary controlled school · 1,334 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.1
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.