The primary schools are good, and secondary school means a long trip every morning. The two local primaries post maths results above the expected standard. Four in five schools across the county are graded good or better. The nearest secondary is a drive away, not a walk. For a village this size, the schools are one of the best things about it.
Primary is the strong part. The two mainstream state primaries around Hartfield averaged a score of about 105 in the end-of-primary maths tests, which is comfortably above the expected standard. That is a small sample, and one strong or weak year group can move it. St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School and St Michael's Primary School are the two local names. The nearest primary is modelled at about 23 minutes on foot or eight minutes by car, which in the High Weald counts as round the corner. The school run is the one car journey in Hartfield parents might sometimes skip.
Ofsted's figures cover the whole of East Sussex, not just Hartfield. Of the 67 settings with a published overall grade, 54 are good or better, which is roughly four in five. Seven of those are outstanding. On the other side, seven require improvement and six are inadequate, so a county-wide picture that is mostly good still leaves room for surprises. Another 84 settings have no published grade yet, which tells you nothing either way, and a parent reading "not yet graded" as bad news is spending energy they'll need later.
Being close to a school doesn't get a child a place. Admission follows the school's own published criteria, and a Church of England primary may weigh things other than distance, so check each school's admissions policy before you buy. The house on the lane nearest the playground carries the most risk of assuming too much. Secondary is where Hartfield's location costs you. The nearest secondary is modelled at about 18 minutes by car and about 39 by public transport, and walking takes close to two hours. Those public transport times are 2019 models, and rural bus services have only got thinner since. Find out the actual school bus route and timetable before you pay a premium for being "near schools". In Hartfield, near a primary and near a secondary are two different claims.
Hartfield's schools are one of its real strengths. Small, well-performing primaries are on the doorstep, and the county around them is mostly graded good. The trade-off is a longer secondary journey, which is worth knowing about before you buy.