The schools are good, in a dependable way that nobody frames on the fridge. Primary maths results sit above the expected standard. The local state secondary posts solid results. Most schools across the county hold a good or better grade. Nobody has to move to Burgess Hill for the schools, and nobody has to move away for them either.
At primary level, the four mainstream state primaries in the area average about 107 on the Key Stage 2 maths test taken at the end of primary school. That's comfortably above the expected standard. Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, London Meed Community Primary School and Sheddingdean Community Primary School are among the names local families compare. The comparing happens mostly at the school gate, where it reliably turns into a contest nobody signed up for.
At secondary level, there is one mainstream state secondary in the area, and its pupil-weighted Attainment 8 score, which measures results across eight GCSE subjects, is about 57. That's a respectable figure for a school serving an entire town, not a selective intake. The Burgess Hill Academy carries the town's name. St Paul's Catholic College moved to its site opposite the Triangle leisure centre in 2005 and adds a faith-school option that some parents plan around years in advance. Families on the edges of town also look at secondaries in Hassocks and Haywards Heath, which is how a school run turns into a commute.
Ofsted's grades cover the whole of West Sussex, not only Burgess Hill, so read them as the county picture. Of the 122 settings with a published grade, 103 are rated good or outstanding, roughly five in six. Eleven are outstanding, 17 require improvement and two are rated inadequate. Another 125 settings have no published grade yet. That tells you nothing about their quality, only that the inspection calendar hasn't reached them.
A school's name on a map doesn't mean a place for your child. Admissions are decided by the council's criteria, not by how close the estate agent said the school was, and the agent won't be the one reading the offer letter in spring. Check the admissions rules for the specific school, for the year your child starts, before you commit to the house.
Schools are one of Burgess Hill's real strengths: consistently good rather than headline-grabbing, and good enough that parents can argue about which one without anyone getting a bad deal.