Bowden House School
Firle Road, Seaford, BN25 2JB
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 5 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Headteacher
- Mr Neil Wells
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Lewes
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 40
- Pupils on roll
- 39
- URN
- 100986
- Local authority
- Tower Hamlets
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01323893138
About this school
Bowden House School is a boys' community special school in Seaford. It teaches children aged 5 to 18 and has 39 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 7 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - | - |
| Expected standard in reading | - | - | - |
| Expected standard in maths | - | - | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 10 | 2 | 10 |
| Attainment 8 score | 13.7 | - | 11.1 |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 10% | - | 10% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | - | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.3 | - | 0.3 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Bowden House School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Tower Hamlets average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.7 | 44.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | — | 44 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 11.1 | 43.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 18.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 24.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40 |
| 2023/24 | 40 |
| 2024/25 | 38 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 81.82%
- English as an additional language
- 5.3%
- Overall absence
- 24.44%
- Persistent absence
- 55.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cuckmere House School1.2 miles
Academies · Seaford
-
Northease Manor School6.0 miles
Special schools · Lewes
-
The South Downs School6.5 miles
Academies · Eastbourne
-
Compass Community School Pinetree Park7.2 miles
Special schools · Lewes
-
The Lindfield School7.3 miles
Academies · Eastbourne
Other schools in Seaford
- Cuckmere House School Academies
- Annecy Catholic Primary School Primary
- Chyngton School Primary
- Cradle Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Seaford Primary School Primary
- Seaford Head School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bowden House School teach?
- Bowden House School teaches children aged 5 to 18. It is a special school in Seaford.
- Who is the headteacher of Bowden House School?
- The headteacher of Bowden House School is Mr Neil Wells, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bowden House School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bowden House School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Bowden House School?
- Bowden House School has 39 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 18.
- Is Bowden House School full?
- Bowden House School has capacity for 40 pupils and 39 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Bowden House School a faith school?
- No. Bowden House School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Bowden House School have?
- The schools register lists Bowden House School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Bowden House School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 13.7 in 2022/23 and 11.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Bowden House School's absence rate?
- Bowden House School's overall absence rate is 24.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bowden House School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bowden House School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.