Secondary schools in East Sussex

There are 27 secondary schools in East Sussex, teaching 27,264 pupils. Of the 24 with a score, 7 do better than similar schools elsewhere in England and 10 do worse.

Best in England Primary schools in East Sussex All schools in East Sussex Places within

Pupils from low-income families26%average across these schools

Doing better than similar schools7 of 24scored schools in the top two bands

New-style Ofsted report cards7inspected since November 2025

Good or outstanding (old grades)112 requires improvement or inadequate

Full or nearly full10 of 25schools with 98% or more of places taken

Average class size23.9one-teacher classes, January census

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored

Getting a place in East Sussex

From East Sussex council's allocation figures for 2026 entry: 24 secondary schools, 5 of which filled on distance and 19 offered a place to everyone who applied. Every school's page has a postcode check.

Hardest to get into

The last place went to a child living this far away. The shorter the distance, the harder it is to get in.

Willingdon Community School 3.3 miles
Uckfield College 3.5 miles
Chailey School 3.9 miles
Claverham Community College 4.2 miles
Heathfield Community College 6.0 miles

Places to spare

Every applicant was offered a place.

Ark Alexandra Academy 244 offers for 360 places
The Eastbourne Academy 141 offers for 180 places
Robertsbridge Community College 132 offers for 160 places
Rye College 133 offers for 150 places
Seahaven Academy 163 offers for 180 places
The Turing School 183 offers for 189 places
The Cavendish School 120 offers for 120 places
Seaford Head School 232 offers for 232 places
Ratton School 243 offers for 243 places
Peacehaven Community School 180 offers for 180 places
King's Academy Ringmer 150 offers for 150 places
St Richard's Catholic College 203 offers for 200 places

Most first choices per place

The Cavendish School

1.5 per place

St Catherine's College

1.4 per place

Claverham Community College

1.3 per place

St Richard's Catholic College

1.3 per place

Chailey School

1.2 per place

Willingdon Community School

1.2 per place

Heathfield Community College

1.1 per place

Gildredge House

1.1 per place

Source: East Sussex council (allocation statistics). Councils we hold this for.

Secondary schools (27)

Ranked by score, highest first. The likely range shows how sure we can be. If two schools' ranges overlap, don't read it as one beating the other. Click a column heading to sort, or hover a row to find it on the map.

#	School	Pupils	Low income	Ofsted	Score	Likely range
1	Beacon AcademyAcademy · ages 11-18 · Crowborough	1,642	14%	Outstanding 2024	84	80 to 88
2	The Cavendish SchoolAcademy · ages 2-16 · Eastbourne	1,399	18%	No overall grade 2025	84	79 to 88
3	Seaford Head SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18 · Seaford	1,461	21%	Outstanding 2023	82	77 to 86
4	Chailey SchoolCouncil · ages 11-16 · Lewes	862	15%	Report card 2026	77	70 to 82
5	Uckfield CollegeCouncil · ages 11-18 · Uckfield	1,671	15%	Outstanding 2024	69	60 to 76
6	Claverham Community CollegeCouncil · ages 11-16 · Battle	1,147	21%	Good 2024	67	58 to 75
7	Gildredge HouseFree school · ages 4-16 · Eastbourne	1,169	19%	No overall grade 2024	66	55 to 74
8	Heathfield Community CollegeCouncil · ages 11-18 · Heathfield	1,416	16%	Good 2023	65	55 to 73
9	King's Academy RingmerAcademy · ages 11-16 · Lewes	659	23%	Not inspected	62	50 to 72
10	Priory SchoolFoundation · ages 11-16 · Lewes	1,153	20%	Good 2023	57	46 to 66
11	St Catherine's CollegeAcademy · ages 11-16 · Eastbourne	1,064	27%	Good 2019	50	42 to 60
12	Willingdon Community SchoolCouncil · ages 11-16 · Eastbourne	1,117	20%	Good 2023	50	40 to 60
13	Uplands AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Wadhurst	699	23%	Not inspected	42	31 to 52
14	Peacehaven Community SchoolAcademy · ages 11-16 · Peacehaven	890	24%	Good 2023	39	30 to 50
15	Bexhill High AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Bexhill-on-Sea	1,441	31%	No overall grade 2025	34	26 to 44
16	Ark Alexandra AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Hastings	1,315	31%	Report card 2026	32	24 to 41
17	Ratton SchoolAcademy · ages 11-16 · Eastbourne	1,183	30%	Report card 2026	29	22 to 39
18	Seahaven AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Newhaven	701	36%	Report card 2025	19	14 to 26
19	Rye CollegeAcademy · ages 11-16 · Rye	645	37%	Good 2023	11	7 to 16
20	The Eastbourne AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Eastbourne	776	51%	Report card 2026	7	5 to 11
21	Mulberry Academy HastingsAcademy · ages 11-16 · Hastings	833	48%	Report card 2026	7	5 to 10
22	The Turing SchoolAcademy · ages 11-16 · Eastbourne	771	41%	Report card 2026	2	1 to 3
23	Hailsham AcademyAcademy · ages 2-16 · Hailsham	1,577	27%	Inadequate 2023	0	0 to 1
24	Robertsbridge Community CollegeAcademy · ages 11-16 · Robertsbridge	644	25%	Inadequate 2024	0	0 to 1
	Lansdowne Children's CentreSecure units · ages 10-17 · St Leonards-on-Sea	–	–	Not inspected	–
	Mulberry Academy St LeonardsAcademy · ages 11-16 · St Leonards-on-Sea	–	–	No overall grade 2025	–
	St Richard's Catholic CollegeAcademy · ages 11-16 · Bexhill-on-Sea	1,029	14%	Good 2021	–

Secondary schools by town in East Sussex

Battle1 schools Bexhill-on-Sea2 schools Crowborough1 schools Eastbourne7 schools Hailsham1 schools Hastings2 schools Heathfield1 schools Lewes3 schools Newhaven1 schools Peacehaven1 schools Robertsbridge1 schools Rye1 schools Seaford1 schools St Leonards-on-Sea2 schools Uckfield1 schools Wadhurst1 schools

Secondary schools in nearby areas

Kent104 schools Hampshire71 schools Surrey58 schools Oxfordshire42 schools West Sussex40 schools Buckinghamshire37 schools Milton Keynes17 schools Medway22 schools West Berkshire10 schools Southampton13 schools Wokingham10 schools Windsor and Maidenhead14 schools

About this list

Schools are listed by their School Chooser Score, highest first. Schools without a score (independent schools and those with too little published data) come after, in alphabetical order. The score compares each school with schools that have a similar mix of pupils, not just with each other, so a school with a lower score in a wealthier area may still have better exam results. How the score works.