St Catherine's College, Eastbourne

In its own words: "We are St Catherine's College. We are a Church of England Academy that has children at the heart of everything we do. Our smart, well-behaved students are happy and proud of their school. We are different, and what sets us apart is that we are the only Church of England secondary school/academy in East Sussex."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include hockey, basketball, swimming, yoga, dance and Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2026, pupils at St Catherine's College averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 44.5 in East Sussex and 47 across England.

45% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in East Sussex and 47% in England.

That is down from 47.6 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.09: pupils made about average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 36.1, against 49.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 13.1 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Geography, Combined Science and Sports Studies.

For September 2026 entry, 296 families put St Catherine's College as their first choice and 490 named it as one of their preferences, for 211 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 90 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Catherine's College are The Turing School (1.3 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 31.7); The Eastbourne Academy (2.1 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 37.1); Ratton School (2.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.5); and The Cavendish School (2.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 48.2).

St Catherine's College's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

St Catherine's College is one of 28 schools run by Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust, an academy trust.

87 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Catherine's College (as of September 2025): 90% would recommend the school, 90% say their child is happy there and 77% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (94%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (77%).

Of the 209 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 84% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 51% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.

7.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (82%) and Mixed (6%).

In 2026, 158 pupils (14.8%) received SEN support and 19 (1.8%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Pevensey & Westham Rail Station, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Spring Lodge Close (near), 190 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 175 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in East Sussex (65), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, St Catherine's College issued 473 suspensions, 44.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to St Catherine's College are Langney Primary Academy (0.1 miles), The Haven Church of England Methodist Primary School (0.6 miles), West Rise Primary School and Nursery (0.7 miles) and Tollgate Community Junior School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.