Schools in Worthing are provided by West Sussex County Council and by a number of independent providers. Both non-denominational and Church of England maintained schools were previously organised along three tier lines, with students transferring from a first school at age 8 to a middle school, and then starting High School at age 12. This system was introduced in 1973 as part of a move to reorganise schools to provide comprehensive education across West Sussex. In 2015, schools returned to the more common pattern of transfer at the end of a Key Stage.
The local authority provides 22 primary schools (through a combination of infant, junior and primary schools) and six high schools, alongside a primary and a secondary special school.
In July 2013 it was announced that funding had been agreed by central government that would allow a new 900-place secondary school to be built in Broadwater, with a view to changing the age of transfer between primary and secondary schools.