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State secondary schools in East Sussex

26 schools · South East · 2024/25 Department for Education figures

East Sussex has 26 state secondaries, 6 of them with sixth forms. 86.3% of families got their first choice last year, about the national picture. Results run from 25% to 68.5% passing English and maths, a spread of 44 points, with a middle school at 43.2%, almost exactly England's 45.4%.

Of those Ofsted has graded, 3 rated Outstanding, 11 Good, 3 Requires improvement, 2 Inadequate. 7 schools carry no overall grade at all — either inspected since Ofsted stopped issuing one in September 2024, or never inspected.

26 schools in East Sussex. Tap one, or see the full list.
25% 69% passed English & maths

East Sussex against England

State-funded schools, 2024/25

42%

Passed English & maths grade 5 or above

3.6% below England

England 45%

43.1

Attainment 8 average score

3 below England

England 46.1

23%

Persistently absent missed 10% of sessions

1.3% above England

England 21%

Getting a place

2026/27 secondary admissions round, across East Sussex

86.3%

Got their first choiceof those who applied

England 84%

95.9%

Got one of their threefirst, second or third

0.4%

Got no offer at allfrom any preference

21%

Appeals upheld35 of 169 heard

These are figures for East Sussex as a whole. A popular school can be much harder to get into than the average suggests, and the criteria that decide it are set by each school's own admission authority rather than centrally. How applying works

How much the choice matters here

Across East Sussex's 26 schools, the share passing English and maths runs from 25% to 69%. That is a spread of 44 percentage points, about typical.

The typical council spans about 48 points. Where schools are close together the school a child gets matters less; where they are far apart it matters a great deal. The widest spreads are all selective areas, where grammar schools sit at one end and everything else at the other.

East Sussex schools, subject by subject

The share reaching grade 4 or above, among schools entering at least 20 pupils. Which pupils take a subject differs a lot between schools, so read this as what happened rather than as a ranking of teaching.

mathshistorygeographyenglish literatureenglish languagecombined sciencephysicschemistrybiologyartfrenchspanishfood technologyphotographydesign technologyphysical educationcomputer sciencedrama
  1. 1 Ark Alexandra Academy HASTINGS · 67 entries 91%
  2. 2 St Richard's Catholic College Bexhill-on-Sea · 88 entries 83%
  3. 3 Heathfield Community College Heathfield · 107 entries 77%
  4. 4 St Catherine's College Eastbourne · 122 entries 74%
  5. 5 Claverham Community College Battle · 136 entries 73%
  6. 6 Chailey School Lewes · 83 entries 72%
  7. 7 Robertsbridge Community College Robertsbridge · 73 entries 71%
  8. 8 Peacehaven Community School Peacehaven · 72 entries 69%
  9. 9 Gildredge House Eastbourne · 68 entries 69%
  10. 10 Uckfield College Uckfield · 136 entries 67%
  11. 11 Seahaven Academy Newhaven · 83 entries 66%
  12. 12 Ratton School Eastbourne · 53 entries 66%
  13. 13 Willingdon Community School Eastbourne · 86 entries 63%
  14. 14 The Cavendish School Eastbourne · 101 entries 61%
  15. 15 Priory School Lewes · 148 entries 61%
  16. 16 King's Academy Ringmer Lewes · 28 entries 61%
  17. 17 Beacon Academy Crowborough · 141 entries 60%
  18. 18 Bexhill High Academy Bexhill-on-Sea · 88 entries 60%
  19. 19 Seaford Head School Seaford · 89 entries 57%
  20. 20 Uplands Academy Wadhurst · 47 entries 55%
  21. 21 The Eastbourne Academy Eastbourne · 63 entries 48%
  22. 22 The Turing School Eastbourne · 66 entries 47%
  23. 23 Mulberry Academy St Leonards St Leonards-on-Sea · 71 entries 44%
  24. 24 Hailsham Academy Hailsham · 92 entries 42%
  25. 25 Mulberry Academy Hastings Hastings · 46 entries 37%
  26. 26 Rye College Rye · 47 entries 28%
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Every school in East Sussex

Schools in neighbouring authorities are not in this list, because admissions run per authority. See bordering areas.

2 of 23 have no spare places. Sort the list, or narrow it first.

  • Ark Alexandra Academy HASTINGS · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    41%
    Attainment 8
    42.6
    Absence
    25%
  • Beacon Academy Crowborough · Outstanding.
    Eng & maths
    61%
    Attainment 8
    50.2
    Absence
    22%
  • Bexhill High Academy Bexhill-on-Sea · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    34%
    Attainment 8
    41.7
    Absence
    23%
  • Chailey School Lewes · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    52%
    Attainment 8
    49.3
    Absence
    14%
  • Claverham Community College Battle · Good. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    56%
    Attainment 8
    50.3
    Absence
    16%
  • Gildredge House Eastbourne · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    45%
    Attainment 8
    46.7
    Absence
    18%
  • Hailsham Academy Hailsham · Inadequate.
    Eng & maths
    26%
    Attainment 8
    35.4
    Absence
    —
  • Heathfield Community College Heathfield · Good.
    Eng & maths
    54%
    Attainment 8
    50.6
    Absence
    29%
  • King's Academy Ringmer Lewes · Good.
    Eng & maths
    41%
    Attainment 8
    47.6
    Absence
    23%
  • Mulberry Academy Hastings Hastings · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    27%
    Attainment 8
    38.2
    Absence
    33%
  • Mulberry Academy St Leonards St Leonards-on-Sea · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    25%
    Attainment 8
    33.2
    Absence
    —
  • Peacehaven Community School Peacehaven · Good.
    Eng & maths
    33%
    Attainment 8
    40.1
    Absence
    24%
  • Priory School Lewes · Good.
    Eng & maths
    52%
    Attainment 8
    46.4
    Absence
    28%
  • Ratton School Eastbourne · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    43%
    Attainment 8
    43
    Absence
    20%
  • Robertsbridge Community College Robertsbridge · Inadequate.
    Eng & maths
    32%
    Attainment 8
    40.2
    Absence
    —
  • Rye College Rye · Good.
    Eng & maths
    35%
    Attainment 8
    36.8
    Absence
    40%
  • Seaford Head School Seaford · Outstanding.
    Eng & maths
    50%
    Attainment 8
    49.4
    Absence
    21%
  • Seahaven Academy Newhaven · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    40%
    Attainment 8
    40.3
    Absence
    30%
  • St Catherine's College Eastbourne · Good. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    46%
    Attainment 8
    47.6
    Absence
    23%
  • St Richard's Catholic College Bexhill-on-Sea · Good.
    Eng & maths
    69%
    Attainment 8
    58.4
    Absence
    —
  • The Cavendish School Eastbourne · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    53%
    Attainment 8
    47.3
    Absence
    14%
  • The Eastbourne Academy Eastbourne · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    25%
    Attainment 8
    37.7
    Absence
    30%
  • The Turing School Eastbourne · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    27%
    Attainment 8
    34.6
    Absence
    39%
  • Uckfield College Uckfield · Outstanding.
    Eng & maths
    46%
    Attainment 8
    47
    Absence
    24%
  • Uplands Academy Wadhurst · Good.
    Eng & maths
    37%
    Attainment 8
    42.5
    Absence
    21%
  • Willingdon Community School Eastbourne · Good.
    Eng & maths
    49%
    Attainment 8
    45
    Absence
    18%

Pick up to 4 schools to see them side by side in the comparison tool, subject by subject.

Sixth form · Key stage 5·2024/25

A levels in East Sussex

6 of East Sussex's 6 sixth forms publish A level results. Ranked on the share reaching AAB or better in at least two of the subjects universities name, which is the measure the steepest entry requirements are written in.

Sixth form Grade AAB+

A level results only. A sixth form running mostly BTECs and other applied courses will show a dash here and can still be the right one — those are graded on their own scale, where a distinction and an A grade carry the same points and mean different things.

Bordering East Sussex

Near a boundary, schools on both sides are usually in reach. Whether a child can apply is set by each school's admission criteria, not by the border.

Brighton and Hove 10 schools · 48% passed English & mathsKent 104 schools · 47% passed English & mathsSurrey 57 schools · 55% passed English & mathsWest Sussex 40 schools · 46% passed English & maths

What these mean

Attainment 8
The average pupil's total score across eight GCSE-equivalent subjects, with English and maths counting double. It is scored out of 90. A score of 50 is roughly equivalent to achieving a grade 5 across eight subjects.
Grades 4 and 5
GCSEs are graded from 9 down to 1. Grade 4 is a standard pass and broadly corresponds to the old grade C; grade 5 is what the government calls a strong pass. Grade 7 is broadly equivalent to an old grade A.
Persistent absence
The share of pupils who miss at least 10% of their possible sessions during the school year. This includes both authorised and unauthorised absence, so illness and other authorised reasons are included. Persistent absence has remained substantially higher than its pre-pandemic level.
First preference
The share of families who were offered the school they ranked first on their application, on national offer day in March. This figure is calculated across the relevant schools or admissions authority, so a high overall figure does not necessarily mean that every individual school is easy to get into.
Spare places
The amount of available capacity a school has compared with the number of pupils on roll. This is different from oversubscription: spare places measure whether a school has capacity, whereas oversubscription describes demand for places exceeding the number available. A school with no spare places may be popular, but a small school can also be full without receiving a large number of applications.
Average A-level grade
The average grade achieved across students' A-level entries. This is different from measures such as the proportion achieving AAB or better in two or more facilitating subjects, which are sometimes used to indicate higher attainment and university-entry performance.
Covers state-funded schools in England; independent schools are not included, and neither the list nor the subject figures above take account of them.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Key stage 4 performance and school characteristics: Department for Education, 2024/25. Inspection outcomes: Ofsted.