Bohunt School Worthing Review 2026: Purpose-built 11 to 16 academy with clear expectations and broad co-curricular choice

A relatively new secondary in Broadwater, this is a purpose-built academy that opened in September 2015 and now serves students from Year 7 to Year 11. It sits within the Bohunt Education Trust, with a trust-wide emphasis on consistent expectations and a strong student culture.

The headline message for parents is balance. The school is ambitious about learning, while also putting real time into activities, trips and enrichment, including a Year 7 team-building day early in the school journey. The flip side is that, as with many busy secondaries, movement and social spaces can sometimes be where behaviour needs the most active management.

Leadership is also in a transition phase. Recent updates indicate an interim headteacher appointment from 1 January 2026, while government records list Mrs Nicole Jones as headteacher.

This is a school that describes itself in practical, student-facing language rather than slogans. Its ethos is captured in three words, Enjoy, Respect, Achieve, and that framing runs through how it talks about learning, personal development, and conduct.

Pastoral culture is positioned as relational and responsive. Students are expected to speak up early if something is not right, and the school has promoted a QR code reporting route for concerns, which students use and trust. This matters for parents because it suggests a system that is designed for speed, low friction, and follow-up, rather than relying on students to navigate a long chain of adults.

The atmosphere described in formal reporting is welcoming and inclusive, with students feeling safe and relationships with staff characterised as warm. That said, the same evidence points to a familiar pinch-point: crowded corridors and social spaces can be where behaviour becomes more boisterous than families might want. For most students this is manageable background noise in a large school; for those who are easily overwhelmed by busier environments, it is an important question to explore at open events and transition activities.

On the broad headline measures for secondary performance, outcomes sit close to the middle of the pack in England rather than at the very top or bottom. Ranked 1,647th in England and 4th in Worthing for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the school’s profile aligns with solid performance in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

In the available GCSE metrics, Attainment 8 is 46.7 and Progress 8 is -0.07. For most parents, the practical implication is that outcomes are broadly in line with prior attainment expectations, with a modestly below-average progress signal rather than the strong positive progress seen in the most improved schools.

Subject-entry patterns also matter. An average EBacc APS of 4.19 provides a useful benchmark for core academic breadth, and the proportion achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc is 21.3%.

When you are comparing options locally, the most helpful approach is to place this school’s academic profile alongside other nearby secondaries using FindMySchool’s local comparison tools, then weigh the data against fit factors like travel time, pastoral systems, and co-curricular access.

The school’s stated curriculum intent emphasises memorable learning experiences, including trips, visits, and a residential experience, with pupil premium funding used to support access for students from lower-income families. This is a meaningful operational statement because it signals that enrichment is not treated as a bolt-on for a few, it is part of the planned offer, with financial access explicitly considered.

The curriculum is presented as broad and ambitious, and formal evaluation describes students learning well across subjects, supported by school and trust leaders working together on planning. Parents should read that as a structured curriculum model, where sequencing and common expectations are intended to be consistent across year groups.

One area highlighted for improvement is PSHE delivery, which is not always implemented effectively, with some aspects of learning not developing as well as they should. The practical implication is not that personal development is absent, but that consistency in how it is taught, and what students retain from it, is an area that still needs tightening.

Where Students Go Next

Because this is an 11 to 16 school, all students move on to post-16 study elsewhere. What parents should look for is the strength of guidance and the realism of pathways, not just aspirational messaging. One concrete indicator is that the school meets the provider access requirement, meaning students are given information about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships, not only sixth form routes.

Families weighing this school should ask two practical questions at events: how GCSE option choices connect to likely post-16 destinations, and how the school supports students who want a technical route as well as those targeting A-levels.

Year 7 admission operates through West Sussex County Council’s coordinated admissions scheme, with families applying via the local authority rather than directly to the school. For September 2026 entry, West Sussex set online applications opening at 9am on 8 September 2025, with an on-time deadline of 31 October 2025. Offer notifications for the secondary transfer process are shown in the published timetable as 16 April 2026.

Open mornings for Year 6 families are promoted through the school’s admissions pages, with booking handled externally. If the specific dates on the website relate to a past cycle, the pattern is still useful: open events typically sit in the autumn term, and booking is often required.

If you are shortlisting based on travel time and practical logistics, use FindMySchoolMap Search to check your likely route and consistency of journey across the week, then validate the on-the-ground experience at drop-off and pick-up times.

A visible strength is the emphasis on safety and trust. Students have confidence that staff will handle issues they raise, supported by a reporting mechanism they understand and use. That is a meaningful piece of culture for parents because it suggests the system is designed to surface problems early, before they become entrenched.

For students with additional needs, the school publishes a dedicated SEN page, identifies named leadership roles within SEND, and provides a structured parent enquiry pack to guide families through identification pathways and support approaches. While the detail of individual support always depends on the student, this kind of published structure usually indicates a team that expects to work closely with parents, and that wants processes to be transparent.

Enrichment is positioned as a significant part of the school experience, with formal reporting describing an exceptional number of clubs, activities, and trips. For Year 7, the early team-building “big day out” is a good example of the school using structured experiences to build relationships and belonging quickly, which can make a meaningful difference to transition confidence.

The co-curricular hub also shows the school leaning into specialist providers for some activities. Examples include STEM Innovation workshops, Sussex Steel (band-based music provision), Brighton Youth Ultimate Frisbee, NextGen Music with a DJing focus, South Coast Skate Club, and Crazy Comic Club with manga and comic storytelling. These are not generic placeholders, they indicate a deliberate effort to offer activities that appeal to different student identities, including creative routes and newer sports.

Cinema Club listings and other termly club offers also suggest a timetable approach rather than a one-off programme, which typically helps students commit, progress, and build peer networks over time.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Families should plan instead for the normal associated costs, such as uniform, trips, and optional paid clubs run by external providers.

On travel and daily logistics, the school strongly encourages sustainable transport and operates a detailed “park and stride” approach, including multiple suggested drop-off locations away from the immediate site. Gates open at 8am. Published material also notes that the site is well served by public transport, with a train station within walking distance and bus routes nearby.

School-day timings are not consistently accessible across sources, but one published note states that Fridays end officially at 13:50, followed by extracurricular clubs. Parents with childcare constraints should confirm the current pattern directly with the school.

• Leadership transition. The school has signalled an interim headteacher appointment from 1 January 2026, and parents should expect the usual period of adjustment as priorities and routines bed in.

• Crowded-space behaviour. Behaviour in lessons is described as settled with little disruption, but corridors and social spaces can sometimes be boisterous. If your child is sensitive to busy environments, explore how movement is managed at peak times.

• PSHE consistency. Delivery of PSHE has been highlighted as an area needing more consistent implementation, so parents may want to ask how this has been strengthened since it was identified.

• Friday early finish. A 13:50 Friday finish can be a benefit for some families, but it can also create supervision challenges if you rely on end-of-day childcare. Confirm current arrangements and club availability.

Bohunt School Worthing offers a clear, structured secondary experience in a modern setting, with a strong emphasis on safety, expectations, and a co-curricular programme that goes beyond the standard menu. Its academic outcomes look broadly typical for England rather than sharply selective or exceptionally high, which makes “fit” factors especially important.

It is best suited to families who want a mainstream, mixed 11 to 16 school with a strong enrichment offer, clear routines, and practical transport planning. Those considering it should pay close attention to daily movement and social-space management, and should explore how personal development teaching is being strengthened.