The Academy, Selsey, Chichester
The Academy, Selsey is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Chichester, part of The Kemnal Academies Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in January 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 5th-highest of the 5 schools in Chichester with published results, and 2,859th of 3,298 across England. It was 63% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to West Sussex (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
The Academy, Selsey in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at The Academy, Selsey averaged an Attainment 8 score of 38.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.2 in West Sussex and 47 across England.
33% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 47% in West Sussex and 47% in England.
That is in line with 2025, when the score was 38.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.25: pupils made below 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 27.3, against 41.9 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.6 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 20 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Business Studies and Art and Design.
Getting a place at The Academy, Selsey
For September 2026 entry, 111 families put The Academy, Selsey as their first choice and 147 named it as one of their preferences, for 116 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 4 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
The trust
The Academy, Selsey is one of 45 schools run by The Kemnal Academies Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 38.2 in 2024/25.
What parents say
30 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The Academy, Selsey (as of April 2026): 100% would recommend the school, 90% say their child is happy there and 71% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (71%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 105 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 78% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 72% to a further education college, 6% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.
Who goes there
6.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of The Academy, Selsey.
11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Academy (opposite), 90 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, The Academy, Selsey issued 144 suspensions, 28.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to The Academy, Selsey are Medmerry Primary School (under 0.1 miles) and Seal Primary Academy (0.3 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from April 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's January 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
The Academy excels at supporting all its pupils, especially those with additional needs. Teachers know their students well and create a caring community where behaviour is consistently respectful. The school is also ambitious about broadening pupils' horizons through enriching activities and helping them explore their futures.
Key Strengths
- Strong pastoral support and knowledge of individual pupils, particularly those with special educational needs - they thrive and achieve as well as or better than peers
- New behaviour processes have created a calm, respectful school culture
- Focused approach to reading and literacy development with tailored support for struggling readers
- Wide range of extra activities, clubs and trips that develop character and raise pupil aspirations
- Improved GCSE outcomes and better preparation for pupils' futures
Areas for Improvement
- Pupils don't regularly practise applying their prior knowledge to new learning, limiting understanding and achievement
- Feedback is not consistently effective across lessons
- A significant minority of pupils have poor attendance and miss vital learning
- Low uptake of English Baccalaureate subjects despite offering them
- Limited opportunities for pupils to learn about protected characteristics and British values
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with strong systems in place and pupils feel safe and known by staff.
Extracurricular Activities
Extra clubs and activities, day trips, residential trips, house events
The Academy, Selsey is a secondary comprehensive school where pupils are happy and behaviour has improved significantly. The school has made notable progress in GCSE outcomes and pupil readiness for their next steps.
About
The Academy Selsey, formerly the Manhood Community College and the Manhood Secondary Modern School, is a small co-educational non-selective academy for 11 to 16-year-old children, in the town of Selsey, on the Manhood Peninsula, just south of Chichester, West Sussex It is part of The Kemnal Academies Trust; the multi-academy trust that oversees a number of secondary and primary schools...
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
27.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
30 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at April 2026 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has improved from -0.44 to -0.25 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 37.5 to 38.3 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 23% to 33% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 38.3 | 33% |
| Disadvantaged(23) | - | 27.3 | 21.7% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(71) | - | 41.9 | 36.6% |
| Boys(53) | - | 37.8 | 37.7% |
| Girls(41) | - | 39.0 | 26.8% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(8) | - | 37.4 | 25% |
| Non mobile(91) | - | 39.2 | 34.1% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 105 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
0.40%
Exclusion rate
144
Suspensions
28.74%
Suspension rate
63 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 501 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 1 nearby secondary school
Keep up with The Academy, Selsey
Term dates
The Academy, Selsey is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see West Sussex's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Academy, Selsey from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Academy, Selsey is in West Sussex; for families living there:
Apply to West Sussex for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 10
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in West Sussex is 11 (the median across 337 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at The Academy, Selsey
Will you get a place at The Academy, Selsey? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against The Academy, Selsey's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for The Academy, Selsey:
- The straight-line distance from your home to The Academy, Selsey.
- West Sussex publishes last distance offered figures, but none for The Academy, Selsey that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at The Academy, Selsey for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in West Sussex got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
63%
Available places
494 pupils
785 places
291 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Chichester
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Chichester
Across West Sussex council
Places available
9,806
Applications
8,765
Got 1st preference
87.5%
Got preferred school
97.6%
All secondary applications across West Sussex council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(9)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
92
SEN Support
28
EHC Plans
22.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
523
Total Pupils
269
Boys
254
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
33
Teachers
15.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,745
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,217
Per pupil
£3882k
Total funding
£140k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
11.1%
Overall absence
30.4%
Persistent absence
516
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
The Academy, Selsey
Questions parents ask about The Academy, Selsey
What are GCSE results like at The Academy, Selsey?
In the 2026 results, pupils at The Academy, Selsey achieved an Attainment 8 score of 38.3. 33% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is The Academy, Selsey's Ofsted rating?
The Academy, Selsey's most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for The Academy, Selsey?
No fixed boundary. When The Academy, Selsey is oversubscribed, West Sussex allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at The Academy, Selsey?
The Academy, Selsey was not full in 2025: it ran at 63% of its 785 places.
How big are the classes at The Academy, Selsey?
Classes at The Academy, Selsey average 24.6 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to The Academy, Selsey?
The Academy, Selsey has around 523 pupils on roll. 27% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at The Academy, Selsey?
11.1% of sessions were missed at The Academy, Selsey in 2024/25. 30.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Academy, Selsey?
Apply through West Sussex's coordinated admissions process, naming The Academy, Selsey on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near The Academy, Selsey?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in West Sussex is 11 (the median across 337 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Academy, Selsey?
The Academy, Selsey is at School Lane, Selsey, Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 9EH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)