The Cavendish School

Eastbourne · BN21 1UE

General information All-through School · 2-16 years Who goes here 1399 pupils, 17.9% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 11.3% on SEN support Behaviour 6.4% absence rate Staff 13.2% turnover Financials £6,577 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Cavendish School

General Information

Address: Eldon Road, Eastbourne, BN21 1UE – View on map
Phone: 01323731340
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Peter Marchant
Age range: 2-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 182 families put it first for 118 places – 15 for every 10 places. 63% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 19 · 2024 16 · 2025 16 · 2026 15
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 97 families put it first for 60 places – 16 for every 10 places. 62% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 13 · 2024 14 · 2025 10 · 2026 16
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

1399 pupils out of 1320 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 251
% eligible for free school meals: 17.9%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (similar to the Eastbourne average)
English as an additional language: 10% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 13.2% a year (Eastbourne 16.2%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 52% moved to another school, 48% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across East Sussex: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 33 (1.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 82 (2.8 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 32 (1.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in East Sussex (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 6.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 13.4%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 11.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 64 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 48 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 28 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 12 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

SecondaryGCSE results, Year 11

Attainment 8 score: 47.3
Compared with the area: 3.9 points above the Eastbourne average (43.4)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (+1.1 points against an expected 46.2)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 72% (Eastbourne 64%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolEastbourne averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 3.9 points above the Eastbourne average (43.4).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

2nd of 6 all-through schools in Eastbourne for Attainment 8

#1St Catherine's College47.6
#2The Cavendish School47.3
#3Gildredge House46.7
#4Ratton School43.0

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1St Catherine's College47.6
#2The Cavendish School47.3
#3Gildredge House46.7
#4Ratton School43.0
#5The Eastbourne Academy37.7
#6The Turing School34.6

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 92.0%
Went into further education: 90.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Physics (General)
Sports Studies
Art & Design
Photography
Computer Science
Spanish
French Language
Speech & Drama
Media Studies
Music Studies (General)
Polish
Persian Language
Turkish
Russian
Arabic

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

PrimaryYear 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 82% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 10% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 25 percentage points above the Eastbourne average (57%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 77% against an expected 65%)
3-year average (expected standard): 77%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 89% · Writing 84% · Maths 98% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 92%
Average test scores: reading 108, maths 109
Based on: 62 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolEastbourne averageEngland↗ Improving Up 5 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 25 percentage points above the Eastbourne average (57%).

Year 6 SATs: 1st of 13 junior and primary schools in the area

#1The Cavendish School82%
#2St John's Meads Church of England Primary School71%
#3Parkland Junior School68%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1The Cavendish School82%
#2St John's Meads Church of England Primary School71%
#3Parkland Junior School68%
#4Stafford Junior School66%
#5Gildredge House60%
=6Oakwood Primary Academy57%
=6Tollgate Community Junior School57%
#8The Haven Church of England Methodist Primary School55%
=9Langney Primary Academy53%
=9Shinewater Primary School53%
#11Ocklynge Junior School52%
#12Heron Park Primary Academy41%
#13Bourne Primary School33%

View full Ofsted inspection report

2nd of 2 all-through schools in Eastbourne for Ofsted rating

#1St Catherine's CollegeGood
#2The Cavendish SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1St Catherine's CollegeGood
#2The Cavendish SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,577 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

6th of 6 all-through schools in Eastbourne for spending per pupil

#4Ratton School£8,049
#5Gildredge House£7,007
#6The Cavendish School£6,577

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1The Eastbourne Academy£9,320
#2The Turing School£8,107
#3St Catherine's College£8,072
#4Ratton School£8,049
#5Gildredge House£7,007
#6The Cavendish School£6,577

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across East Sussex: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Year 6 SATs ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered