Chailey School
Community school in Lewes, BN8 4PU, taking ages 11 to 16, 862 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 4.8 miles East Sussex published for latest published year, as the checker measures.
Opened on this device and kept on it only: just their postcodes are sent, to this site, to measure them.
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Will an address get in?
In the latest published round, the furthest child offered a place lived 4.8 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.
How this compares: every East Sussex school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 4.8 miles, the distance the school admitted from in the latest published year.
Chailey School: 4.8 miles Barcombe Church of England Primary School: 2.67 miles, published by East Sussex
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Chailey School is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.
Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.
Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside both circles; each opens the district's guide.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
Source: East Sussex, published admission distances
Where Chailey School and Barcombe Church of England Primary School are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. Barcombe Church of England Primary School admitted from 2.67 miles in the latest published year, published by East Sussex. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
1 postcode district falls inside both distances, and none has enough recorded sales around its centre to rank on price: BN8. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.
Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.
Drop Barcombe Church of England Primary School and go back to one school.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In East Sussex, 83 of 348 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (23.9%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
Other schools nearby with a published distance
The closest schools to Chailey School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumpton Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 3.29 mi | 1.5 mi |
| Barcombe Church of England Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 2.67 mi | 2.2 mi |
| Wivelsfield Primary School and Nursery Both in reach | Primary | 2.12 mi | 2.7 mi |
| Newick Church of England Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 2.7 mi | 2.8 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Admissions | Non-selective |
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Does not have a sixth form |
| How full | 862 pupils in 870 places (99% full) |
| Local authority | East Sussex |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Report card, February 2026: 4 areas strong or exceptional, 2 at the expected standard |
| Report card |
|
| Attainment 8 | 49.3 (2024/25) |
| Year | Progress 8 |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | not published |
| 2023/24 | +0.36 |
| 2022/23 | -0.08 |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Chailey School
| Girls and boys | 48.5% girls, 51.5% boys |
| English as an additional language | 2.6% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 14.8% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Where Chailey School's Year 11 went next
| Stayed for the sixth form | 4.7% |
| Sixth-form college | 30.2% |
| Further education college | 48.3% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.0% |
| Employment | 2.7% |
| No sustained destination recorded | 4.0% |
DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.
What it costs to live within reach of Chailey School
Cheapest district inside the 4.8 miles: RH15, median £308,222. Dearest: BN7, £575,000.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| RH15 | Mid Sussex | 4.7 mi | £308,222 106 sales |
| BN7 | Lewes | 4.4 mi | £575,000 79 sales |
How to read this
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 4.8 miles the school admitted from in the latest published year, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.
How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.
Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide
Getting to Chailey School by bus
Best-served stop: Grantham Close, 0.3 mi away, with 1.1 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 07:04, last 19:09.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chailey School | 137 yd | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 121, 167, 468 |
| Chailey School | 152 yd | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 167 |
| Mill Lane | 0.2 mi | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Chailey School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around BN8: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at BN8 4PU, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Chailey School?
Chailey School does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in the latest published year lived 4.8 miles away, per East Sussex.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Chailey School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 4.8 miles was enough in the latest published year, and at 99% full the school has little slack. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.
Does buying a house near Chailey School guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.
Every East Sussex school's distance
All East Sussex schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Put Chailey School's figure on your own site
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Admission distance published by East Sussex. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.