Thornton Grove Academy
Thornton Grove Academy is a sponsored academy in Hailsham for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 253 pupils, 43 more than it has places for. About 44 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.
Marshfoot Lane, Hailsham, BN27 2PH01323 819309thorntongroveacademy.orgMrs Danielle King headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet. That is normal for a school that opened in 2025: new schools usually get their first inspection within three years.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (30 offers for 30 places). 31 families put it down as their first choice and 28 of them got in (90%).
| Entry | Places | Put it first | Applied at all | Got a place | First choices who got in | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 30 | 31 | 39 | 30 | 90% | – all offered | LA |
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 21.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 23.3 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (23), emotional and mental health (22), language and communications needs (18), Specific learning difficulty (5), Moderate learning difficulty (1), Multi-sensory impairment (1).
Staff
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White House Academy | Academy | 410 m | 190 | Good 2019 | 34 | Compare |
| Hailsham Academy | Academy | 920 m | 1,577 | Inadequate 2023 | 0 | Compare |
| Grovelands Community Primary School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 694 | Good 2020 | – | Compare |
| Hawkes Farm Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 328 | No overall grade 2024 | 23 | Compare |
| Hellingly Community Primary School | Academy | 2.0 miles | 195 | Good 2021 | – | Compare |
| Park Mead Primary School | Council | 2.7 miles | 90 | Not inspected | 34 | Compare |
| Polegate Primary School | Council | 2.9 miles | 689 | Outstanding 2020 | 44 | Compare |
| Hankham Primary School | Council | 2.9 miles | 107 | Good 2023 | 22 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Thornton Grove Academy a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Thornton Grove Academy yet.
How many pupils does Thornton Grove Academy have?
253 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 120% full.
How big are the classes at Thornton Grove Academy?
The average class had 21.7 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 9% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Marshfoot Lane, Hailsham, BN27 2PH
- Telephone
- 01323 819309
- Website
- www.thorntongroveacademy.org
- Headteacher
- Mrs Danielle King
- Type of school
- Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- STEP Academy Trust (19 schools)
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Ward
- Hailsham East
- Constituency
- Sussex Weald
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2025 (result of amalgamation)
- URN
- 152103 · LAESTAB 8452032 · UKPRN 10099264
- Formerly
- Burfield Academy, Phoenix Academy
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Admissions outcomes: East Sussex council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.