Varndean School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 October 2022

Varndean School is on a mission to achieve its goal of 'world-class' education. Inspirational leaders are rapidly transforming the school. They constantly look for ways to make it better and improve the areas that could be even stronger. As a result, pupils achieve extremely well in most subjects. Pastoral care is exceptionally strong. In this very large school, pupils feel known and individually cared for. Parents are grateful for this and overwhelmingly supportive of the school. One summed this up by saying that the school helped his daughter to 'find her passions and be the best she could be'. Pupils are impressive and incredibly proud of their school. They are fully involved in the multitude of clubs and extra-curricular activities. Behaviour is excellent. Pupil leaders gain useful skills by taking on extra responsibilities. They are very well prepared for their next steps in life. Diversity and difference are celebrated. Pupils and staff do not tolerate any bullying - it is anathema to them. School leaders expertly support pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. They model successful strategies with other schools in their community. They prioritise support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) so that those pupils do increasingly well.

What the school should improve

• Although the curriculum is very well organised, there are some isolated examples where subject planning has been less coherent in the past. In these cases, pupils do not build up their knowledge as well as they do elsewhere. Although leaders have taken actions to remedy this, that process is not yet completed. Leaders should continue their work to ensure that all subject curriculum planning is as consistently strong as the best.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)