The schools around Newick are the kind that don't win the argument for you, but don't lose it either. Primary options are workable and close to hand. Secondary choice is the thing that actually determines the postcode you end up in, as it does in most of rural Sussex. Parents who care about schools already know the drill, and parents who don't will find out at some point around Year Five. Newick is a middle-of-the-road answer to a question most families end up answering with a car journey.
On primary, published Key Stage Two maths sits at around 104, which is a shade above the national baseline of 100. That is not a picking-a-fight number in either direction. It is competent, defensible, unremarkable. Three mainstream state primaries sit in the area, one of them Newick Church of England Primary School itself. The others sit in the surrounding villages, at places like Chailey St Peter's Church of England Primary School, Barcombe Church of England Primary School, and Hamsey Community Primary School. There is also East Hoathly Church of England Primary School, Firle Church of England Primary School, Ringmer Primary and Nursery School, and Chiddingly Primary School further out. That is a lot of small village primaries in short driving distance, most of them Church of England, most of them quiet, most of them working the way rural primaries work: known headteachers, small year groups, and the school gates functioning as the village noticeboard.
On secondary, the picture narrows. Only one mainstream state secondary falls in the area, with a Key Stage Four Attainment Eight score of around 49. That is just below the national benchmark of 50, which puts it in the middle of the middle. The obvious in-area name is Chailey School. There is also King's Academy Ringmer within reasonable reach, and the specialist Chailey Heritage School for children with complex needs. Beyond that, families in Newick often end up looking further afield to Uckfield or Haywards Heath, both of which involve a car and a plan. If secondary choice is the reason you're moving, do the school-run map before you do the house-hunt map, not after.
The catchment caveat is the one every buyer should hear before they sign anything. Being in the village, or being on a specific road, is not the same as being in the catchment for a specific school, and being in the catchment is not the same as being offered a place. Every rural Sussex school runs an admissions arithmetic that combines distance, siblings, faith criteria for the Church of England schools, and whatever the annual application pattern happens to look like that year. If your plan depends on getting your child into one specific named school, ring the school and check the current admissions pattern before you buy. Do not rely on a village-adjacency intuition, and do not rely on estate agent copy.
The verdict on the schools is that they are fine, which sounds like faint praise and isn't quite. Primary choice is broad and the numbers are steady. Secondary choice is thin on the ground and the numbers are honest about being average. Nobody moves to Newick because the schools decided it for them, and nobody moves away from Newick because the schools chased them off. That is the position, and there isn't a version of the answer that dresses it up further without inventing something.