See all schools in Lewes
Priory School
Secondary · Maintained · Lewes
"I wish I knew about this website when I was about to choose School"
Lisa, parent
"Finally, one can access the opinions of other students completely transparently."
Fredrik, student
Get access to exclusive content, available only on SchoolParrot!
1 month
£2.99
First month. Then £4.99 / month
1 year
£19
Best valueFirst year. Then £39 / year.
For Schools and school staff
Do you work as a principal or school staff? Take control of your SchoolParrot profile. Click here
Don’t send your child to this school
Traumatic and painful.
I came here a few years ago when they first brought in the trousers and had awful experiences from the get go. A teacher shouted down the phone to my mum as my mum was ‘raising her voice’ claiming she was “above her” so my mum had no right to raise her voice at her (for context my mum was only raising her voice because she was shouting already). I was bullied by numerous teachers AND students and when reported nothing would happen but when I retaliated I faced multiple consequences. Many teachers made me have panic attacks and at one point I was suspended for a week for ‘wearing the wrong trousers’ even though I was a top student and this was a first time thing making me extremely far behind as I had no way to get work. The mental health support is little and poor and if it wasn’t for the fact I had a good network of friends and a couple incredible teachers (namely Ms Plant and Mrs Sahota-Lyons) I probably would’ve left or my mental health would have declined even further. Being at this school caused my anxiety and depression to worsen to a degree where I could barely get up everyday and was having anxiety attacks about attending. Furthermore, there are some absolutely useless teachers, one being my GCSE physics teacher who was so bad that me and 90% of my class ended up teaching ourselves the content with the textbooks. Many teachers also definitely enjoy the power trip they get, namely my GCSE food tech teacher who made me so anxious to be in her class that I got special arrangements to be sent to the library to do theory instead, during this time she claimed “my cooking would be better if I actually tried and came to class” which she said in a dead silent classroom in front of everyone and I left crying. The other being my form tutor who when I got in trouble for ‘the wrong trousers’ called me up to the front of the class for a ‘talk’ then proceeded to say “Actually sit down, this is a matter for the whole class” then spoke about how disappointed she was with a student in this classroom as they had specifically gone against the dress code and by this point everyone knew it was me and were staring. This also resulted in a huge breakdown. Throughout my years of having her as a form tutor she consistently singled me and a few others out because we were different in our own ways and it was absolutely crystal clear she picked favourites which no teacher should do and if they do it should not be obvious. I was not a bad student whatsoever, I left year 11 in 2022 with only 9 behaviour points over my whole 5 years there but somehow I was picked on and failed by those who I needed most. My siblings now go here and all are in need of SENCO but they are being severely failed too, my mum wants to move them but they are all reluctant as they don’t want to make new friends when they’re already settled but they struggle so much. My brother isn’t the best behaved but on my sister’s first day of school a teacher genuinely said to her “You’re not ___ sister are you?!” and when my sister said yes she gasped almost in horror and shook her head. This poor 11 year old has just come into a brand new school much larger than her previous one and these teachers already made her uncomfortable, anxious and scared. There are also numerous issues with general under-staffing and uniform strictness and I fully believe this school needs a hard reset and for some grown adults to talk to these children to actually understand the severity of what they are going through. Many describe secondary school days as their favourite time of their life and how fun it was but it’s safe to say if I could erase every memory I had from this school I absolutely would. Unfortunately I cannot detail everything that happened here but I can confirm that what I have said is sadly not even the tip
of the iceberg of my experiences and certainly not others as well. What I saw and heard from students and teachers alike is frankly disappointing and disgusting. Do better Priory, do better.
All in all, do not send your child here, their self esteem and self worth will be shattered by the time they are 15/16 and they will have to really work hard to rebuild that and some may never be able to do that. Save yourself and your child the heartbreak.
of the iceberg of my experiences and certainly not others as well. What I saw and heard from students and teachers alike is frankly disappointing and disgusting. Do better Priory, do better.
All in all, do not send your child here, their self esteem and self worth will be shattered by the time they are 15/16 and they will have to really work hard to rebuild that and some may never be able to do that. Save yourself and your child the heartbreak.
Would jump of a cliff then come here
Bullied, harassed, depression, and getting painful injuries that are laughed at- so yeah this school is great
alex junior
mold everywhere, unclean, and overall horrible place. you’d get sick in a few days from the grime of this place. toilets leak all the time having to stand in toilet water, cameras everywhere watching your every move. teachers are genuinely rude and need actual training. teacher also stole someone’s speaker, took it away for a “random stop and search” and never gave it back
just don’t go here
just don’t go here
Almost killed my daughter
My daughter suffered anxiety so severely at this school that she was vomiting on a daily basis. Even then they ignored concerns and continued to punish for attendance.
There is no pastoral care and no mental health awareness. They are more than happy to expel students who are in any way different, experiencing mental health issues or not getting the grades they want for their ofsted report.
They do not care at all and do not treat students like human beings.
Do NOT send your child to this school.
There is no pastoral care and no mental health awareness. They are more than happy to expel students who are in any way different, experiencing mental health issues or not getting the grades they want for their ofsted report.
They do not care at all and do not treat students like human beings.
Do NOT send your child to this school.
They make this school look better than it is
maybe an OK-ish school if the student never has any mental health problems or needs any extra support ever. they swept every issue under the carpet when I was struggling and I never met the SENCO. they care more about if you wear a small necklace and want to wear a coat in an outdoor PE lesson in January weather
the medical care is awful, they might tell you to drink some water and see how you feel in 10 minutes at best
constant ableism and transphobia from the students (and some teachers) and nobody would anything about it apart from maybe a 15 minute assembly in the morning that nobody paid any attention to
the classrooms are either stuffy or freezing cold
the maths department is especially bad. most of the maths teachers don’t know how to keep a class under control and they spend about half an hour on the starter question
it does have a good art and DT department, and a nice library
in conclusion I would never recommend the school overall
the medical care is awful, they might tell you to drink some water and see how you feel in 10 minutes at best
constant ableism and transphobia from the students (and some teachers) and nobody would anything about it apart from maybe a 15 minute assembly in the morning that nobody paid any attention to
the classrooms are either stuffy or freezing cold
the maths department is especially bad. most of the maths teachers don’t know how to keep a class under control and they spend about half an hour on the starter question
it does have a good art and DT department, and a nice library
in conclusion I would never recommend the school overall
bad school
bad school, if i could rate it 0 i would. the teachers don’t care about you they only care about the uniform, someone tried to commit in school because how bad it is
Avoid if possible
Just withdrew our child from the school . Has a terrible culture from the top down or permissiveness to violence - our child was assaulted physically on 3 occasions in one year nothing was done. Verbal bullying goes unchecked . A culture of misogyny and sweeping any issues under the carpet pervade this school . Teaching is inadequate - especially in certain departments. Little interest is shown in the students by many teacher- unfortunately the culture from the top down needs a radical overhaul but that will take different leadership and many years to establish .
Priory School, Lewes
I’ve had an okay experience here. Many rules unneeded but it is an okay school, I got what I needed.
Happy when being pejorative to others
A head that is too important to respond to your morning greetings. A mad ranting and raving, bespectacled PE teacher that is upset because he did not get his promotion and will shout at you infront of students because you did not know about a bell that sounds once a month! Unqualified support staff belittle you to the students in front of your very eyes and play the old denigrate to elevate game unfettered. Departmental members who use low level bullying tactics such as making loud and perogative remarks destined for yours ears to outsiders and then regard themselves as a happy dept! Yes, Gandalf you know who you are! Co-colleagues backing the manipulative accusations of highly strung teens and their parents. Year 9s and above gang up on their teachers with senior mgnt nowhere to be seen.This is a school low on professionalism, collegiality and a very poor grip on behaviour. A sniffy establishment that I would not return to even if you quintrupled my pay. The good vibes end beyond the wonderful reception staff.
Do not come here
The school cares more about is you are wearing jewellery and incorrect uniform than mental health and actually teaching.
Avoid
School has no interest in the well-being of the children. Safeguarding is shocking. The head is arrogant and a nasty piece of work.
terrible school
ruined my mental health, uniform is uncomfortable, teachers are unhelpful and i taught myself most of what i know. would never send my kids here in future
Downhill.
When I joined in 2015, Priory was a good school. There were a large amount of great teachers who actually enjoyed what they were doing, the uniform was smart and comfy(as comfy as uniform can be) and I overall enjoyed myself. However as the years went by, the school lost the majority of its good teachers, the uniform situation (trousers) was a mess (the changing of policies etc) and the staff cared more about what we wore than our education. I’m very glad to have left and would not recommend unfortunately.
would not come here if I were you
this school claims that they care about any form of discrimination and say they take it very seriously. however, in my experience of reporting homophobia and transphobic nothing has been done. over all a bad experience; would not recommend.
Do not come here if you can help it
Very few teachers can teach their subject. The maths department is particularly bad. The head teacher cares more about uniform than anything else and you can’t wear jumpers in winter, even when it’s negative temperatures outside. Do not recommend.
Disgusting. Came out with ptsd.
tw// I was bullied so bad I dropped out, a teacher once told me to stop reporting sexual harassment because my time in the office writing reports made me miss too much class time. The whole ordeal gave me severe anxiety, depression and ptsd, and I tried to end my life.
Send your kids somewhere else, this is a warning
Out of any school I have ever attended, none have come close this Orwelian, authoritarian, hypocritical excuse of a secondary school.
About SchoolParrot
- SchoolParrot is a review site for schools. We are a company that believes in more transparency within schools. Our platform is open to all users.
Read about SchoolParrot and our company - Reviews are published in real-time without moderation and we want to encourage our users to provide constructive feedback and keep a serious tone. The responsibility lies with the user.
Read our review guidelines
Attending school at this school, Priory School Lewes can be a challenging and unpleasant experience for several reasons. The constant pressure to meet high academic standards can be extremely stressful, and the expectations for student conduct can be strict and overbearing. Additionally, the small student body can lead to strong peer pressure and social cliques that can make it difficult to fit in. The limited resources and facilities at the school can also be a source of frustration, leading to feelings of dissatisfaction and helplessness.
The head of years doesn’t help you with your problems, depression, mental health etc. Why waste your money and time to let your child go to this school if they will suffer for 5 years in there? You don’t want that, do you?