Durrington High School Review 2026: A large coastal comprehensive with a research-led approach

A big school in every sense, Durrington High School serves a wide slice of Worthing and the surrounding neighbourhoods, with around 1,650 students across Years 7 to 11.

Leadership is shared between two co-headteachers, Shaun Allison and Chris Woodcock. Chris Woodcock moved into the co-headteacher role in September 2022, after progressing through multiple leadership posts at the school. Shaun Allison joined the school in 2010 and stepped into co-headship after leading work across the trust’s research activity.

The latest Ofsted inspection (17 March 2022) judged the school Good overall, with Good grades across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

Durrington’s public-facing language is direct and consistent. The co-headteachers set out “unapologetically high” expectations, linking standards to calm learning and a shared responsibility to support every student, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. That framing matters because it signals what day-to-day life tends to prioritise: routines, clarity, and a culture where being ready to learn is treated as a collective norm rather than an optional extra.

The school’s values are widely used as a shared vocabulary. Students are encouraged to live out kindness, aspiration, perseverance and pride, and the same ideas appear again in how the school describes recognition, assemblies, and house life. The practical implication for families is that the behavioural culture is not positioned as a set of rules alone, it is positioned as a set of habits students are expected to practise, and be noticed for practising.

Pastoral organisation is also structured. Students move through a house system built around six houses, plus a dedicated Year 7 house, with named house leaders and pastoral managers. This matters in a large school because it creates a smaller unit where relationships can form quickly and communication routes are clearer. The school also sets out a “buddy” approach for students joining, and emphasises the role of a named tutor and pastoral leader in helping students feel safe and known early on.

Durrington is part of Durrington Multi Academy Trust (DMAT), and that trust infrastructure shows up in the school’s identity. The trust’s research school and teacher training routes are presented as practical engines for staff development and consistency, rather than marketing add-ons. For parents, that typically translates into more coherent teaching routines across departments, and less variation from classroom to classroom.

For GCSE outcomes, the school sits in a solid, mid-range position relative to the full England picture, with a stronger placement locally. Ranked 2,135th in England and 5th in Worthing for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), performance aligns with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

Attainment 8 is 47.6, and Progress 8 is +0.29, which indicates students tend to make above-average progress from their starting points. EBacc average point score is 3.98, compared with an England figure of 4.08.

One number worth reading carefully is the percentage achieving grade 5 or above in EBacc subjects, recorded here as 9.6. That can reflect both outcomes and entry patterns, so families who care about languages and the EBacc pathway should ask how EBacc subjects are prioritised and who is entered for them.

A useful way to interpret Durrington’s academic picture is through its combination of scale and local position. A large intake can bring broader subject staffing and wider peer groups, but it can also increase the importance of systems: routines around behaviour, clear curriculum sequencing, and consistent checking for understanding. Those are precisely the areas external evidence highlights as strengths, with one clear improvement point around making checking for understanding more consistent across lessons.

Parents comparing options across Worthing should use the FindMySchool Local Hub page to view results side-by-side using the Comparison Tool, particularly when weighing schools with different intakes and admissions footprints.

Curriculum language on the school site repeatedly emphasises ambition, breadth, and “powerful knowledge”, with personal development threaded through subject learning rather than positioned as a separate bolt-on. The more distinctive feature is how openly the school links its curriculum work to evidence and research practice, including through its connection to the trust’s research school.

The best evidence for teaching quality comes from the most recent full inspection report, which describes subject leaders as highly knowledgeable and focused on training that develops staff expertise across topics. It also describes lessons as calm and focused, with clear boundaries and a consistent approach to expectations across corridors and social spaces. The practical implication is that classroom learning is framed less as dependent on individual teacher style, and more as dependent on shared routines and shared curriculum intent.

Academic enrichment is not presented as only for the sixth form, which is important because Durrington ends at Year 11. The school runs a Super Curriculum programme designed to extend students beyond the standard curriculum, with multiple pathways depending on prior attainment and interest.

Two strands stand out. First, the Year 9 to Year 11 Oxford-linked strand: the school is part of St John’s College Oxford’s Inspire Scholars programme, with around 30 invited students attending after-school workshops and related opportunities. Second, the Year 7 Scholars Academy, which offers invited students structured enrichment across multiple subject areas during the first year of secondary school.

The school also uses lectures as part of that enrichment. In December 2025, the winter lecture series included a talk from astrophysicist Dr Alex Maraio, described as an alumnus. This is a meaningful indicator of how enrichment is positioned: not as occasional trips alone, but as planned academic exposure that students can build on over time.

With no sixth form, the school’s “next steps” work is focused on post-16 transition and the quality of careers guidance. The Ofsted report confirms that students in Years 8 to 11 receive information about the full range of post-16 options, including contact with local training providers, colleges and apprenticeship routes.

The school publishes practical guidance for Year 11 about post-16 applications, advising students to apply to at least one destination by 01 December 2025, with specific reference to BHASVIC having strict deadlines. That detail is useful because it signals a pragmatic approach: secure a pathway early, then focus on GCSE preparation.

There is also evidence of structured careers engagement, including a dedicated post-16 careers evening format organised around houses. For families, this tends to matter as much as any single destination statistic. In a Year 11-only end point, the school’s ability to organise timely advice, application support, and confidence about routes beyond school becomes a core part of the value proposition.

Year 7 entry at the normal transition point is coordinated through West Sussex County Council, with Durrington participating in the county’s standard process. For September 2026 entry, the school’s published deadline for applications was 31 October 2025.

The school’s published admission number (PAN) for Year 7 is 330. If applications exceed places, oversubscription is handled through a clear priority order, including looked after and previously looked after children, children of eligible staff, exceptional social or medical need (with evidence), siblings living within the Borough of Worthing, children attending a DMAT primary, and then residence within the Borough of Worthing. Distance is the tiebreaker within a category.

Two additional points are relevant for families arriving midstream.

1. In-year admissions (Years 7 to 11 after the school year starts, or entry to year groups other than Year 7) are managed by the school, including waiting lists, within the trust’s admissions policy.

2. The admissions policy explicitly warns that moves during Years 10 and 11 are likely to disrupt course continuity and may negatively affect GCSE outcomes, a candid and helpful statement for families considering a mid-Key Stage 4 transfer.

Open events give a sense of the annual rhythm. For the September 2026 cycle, the school published an open evening on 02 October 2025 and open morning tours across 06 to 10 October 2025. Those dates are now in the past, but they provide a strong indicator that open events typically sit in early October each year. Families should verify the current year’s calendar on the school website.

Parents who are trying to understand how realistic their chances are should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check where they sit relative to the school and the Borough of Worthing boundary, then cross-check with the school’s oversubscription priorities.

Pastoral support at Durrington is built around three overlapping structures: houses, safeguarding leadership, and targeted specialist support.

The house system is the everyday layer. Students have a defined route to a house leader and pastoral manager, and Year 7 begins in a dedicated Year 7 house before moving into the main houses later. In a large school, this structure matters because it gives students a smaller community and predictable adults who know their context.

Safeguarding leadership is explicitly named and resourced. The trust profiles the school’s Director of Safeguarding as being in post since 2019, with a remit spanning safeguarding, wellbeing and child protection processes. Students are also directed to multiple routes for help, including house teams and the wellbeing team, and the school describes the option of counselling referrals either in school or out of school.

Targeted support is described in two on-site specialist areas for students with additional needs. The school identifies SEN leadership via the SENCO, and it also describes The Boulevard Centre as a dedicated space supporting students with more complicated emotional or behavioural needs. The existence of a named facility is often a better indicator than generic “pastoral care” language, because it suggests there is capacity for structured interventions rather than informal support alone.

For families considering support needs, the key practical step is to ask how the house team, SEN team, and The Boulevard Centre coordinate around attendance, behaviour plans, and learning adjustments, particularly where a student has overlapping academic and emotional needs.

A large school can offer breadth if it is well organised. The school’s public materials consistently describe high participation in clubs and events, spanning sport, performing arts, and academic clubs.

The clearest indicator of “what this looks like on a Tuesday” is the published clubs information. Across the year, examples of after-school provision have included Manga and Anime Club, Whole School Choir, Drama Club (Years 7 to 9), Mock Trial Competition (Years 10 to 11), a Year 8 Code Club, and a Pathway to Duke of Edinburgh strand for younger years. These are not generic placeholders. They suggest three practical pillars: performance opportunities, structured academic extension, and club routes that build towards larger programmes.

Sport is also organised into fixtures and participation clubs, including year-group cricket fixtures, rounders fixtures, athletics club, and dodgeball club in one published programme. The implication is that sport can be both “for all” and competitive, depending on the student’s interest and confidence.

Duke of Edinburgh is a visible part of the Key Stage 4 experience. The school has published multiple updates describing Year 10 cohorts taking part in expeditions and training, with staff support. For students who thrive on practical challenge and teamwork, DofE can be a particularly strong fit in a Year 11-only school, because it provides an identity and achievement route beyond GCSEs.

Music and performance appear frequently in the school’s news and events stream. A January 2026 item highlights Battle of the Bands as a student showcase event, which signals regular performance opportunities rather than occasional productions only.

The key implication for families is that extracurricular life can be used strategically. For some students, clubs provide belonging and routines that support attendance and behaviour. For others, they provide stretch and an alternative way to build confidence. In a large school, joining one or two consistent activities can also be the simplest way to make the school feel smaller.

The school day runs from 8:40am to 3:10pm, with six periods and two breaks, equating to 32.5 hours per week.

The school references two access points, Rodmell Road and The Boulevard, and notes that cycle access is available at both, with cycle compounds where bicycles and scooters must be locked. For families thinking about independence and travel, that is a practical signal that cycling and active travel are planned into site routines. Students are also encouraged to practise their route in advance of starting Year 7.

As a state school, there are no tuition fees. Families should still expect the usual costs associated with secondary schooling, such as uniform, trips, and optional activities, which can vary by year group and choices.

• Scale and visibility. With around 1,650 students across Years 7 to 11, this is a large setting. That scale can be a strength for subject breadth and clubs, but students who prefer smaller, quieter environments may find the size demanding at first.

• EBacc expectations. The recorded EBacc outcome measure is relatively low, so families who value languages and a strongly EBacc-shaped pathway should ask how the school approaches EBacc entry and language take-up.

• In-year moves at Key Stage 4. The published admissions policy explicitly warns that moving during Years 10 and 11 is likely to disrupt learning and can negatively affect GCSE outcomes. For families considering a mid-course transfer, the bar for a move should be high, with clear educational reasons and a strong transition plan.

• Admissions priorities are specific. The oversubscription structure prioritises residence within the Borough of Worthing after certain categories, with distance as the tiebreaker. Families outside the borough should read the criteria carefully and be realistic about demand.

Durrington High School is a large, structured, research-informed comprehensive with clear behavioural expectations, a defined house system, and credible academic enrichment for high-attaining students well before GCSE. Its local standing is stronger than its England-wide position, which is often what matters most for families choosing within Worthing.

Best suited to students who benefit from routines, enjoy being part of a bigger peer group, and will make the most of clubs, leadership opportunities, or the Super Curriculum pathways. For families who secure a place, the main question is not whether the school offers opportunities, it is whether your child will actively take them.