Willingdon Community School

Wealden · BN20 9QX

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 1117 pupils, 20.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 20% on SEN support Behaviour 7.4% absence rate Staff 16.1% turnover Financials £7,254 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Willingdon Community School

General Information

Address: Broad Road, Lower Willingdon, Eastbourne, BN20 9QX – View on map
Phone: 01323485254
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Emily May
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 248 families put it first for 206 places – 12 for every 10 places. 79% 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 11 · 2024 13 · 2025 13 · 2026 12
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1117 pupils out of 1053 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 225
% eligible for free school meals: 20.1%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the Wealden average)
English as an additional language: 4% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.1% a year (Wealden 14.4%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 56% moved to another school, 44% 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: 7.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 19.1%
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

Resourced provision for Hearing impairment 4 places · 4 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 20.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 80 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 39 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 36 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 28 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 24 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 10 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 8 pupils
Hearing impairment: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils

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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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.

Attainment 8 score: 45.0
Compared with the area: 2.7 points below the Wealden average (47.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−2.2 points against an expected 47.2)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 71% (Wealden 73%, England 65%) Improving
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 schoolWealden 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 2.7 points below the Wealden average (47.7).

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.

4th of 5 secondary schools in Wealden for Attainment 8

#2Beacon Academy50.2
#3Uckfield College47.0
#4Willingdon Community School45.0
#5Uplands Academy42.5

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Heathfield Community College50.6
#2Beacon Academy50.2
#3Uckfield College47.0
#4Willingdon Community School45.0
#5Uplands Academy42.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 89.0%
Went into further education: 77.0%
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
Biology
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
D & T
Spanish
Sports Studies
Business Studies
Food Technology
Psychology (General)
Latin
Computer Science
Art & Design
French Language
Music Studies (General)
Sociology
Speech & Drama

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.

View full Ofsted inspection report

4th of 5 secondary schools in Wealden for Ofsted rating

#2Uckfield CollegeOutstanding
#3Heathfield Community CollegeGood
#4Willingdon Community SchoolGood
#5Hailsham AcademyInadequate

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

#1Beacon AcademyOutstanding
#2Uckfield CollegeOutstanding
#3Heathfield Community CollegeGood
#4Willingdon Community SchoolGood
#5Hailsham AcademyInadequate

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,254 (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.

4th of 5 secondary schools in Wealden for spending per pupil

#2Uckfield College£7,662
#3Heathfield Community College£7,563
#4Willingdon Community School£7,254
#5Beacon Academy£6,485

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

#1Uplands Academy£8,190
#2Uckfield College£7,662
#3Heathfield Community College£7,563
#4Willingdon Community School£7,254
#5Beacon Academy£6,485

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 ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered