Heathfield Community College
Cade Street, Heathfield, TN21 8RJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Caroline Barlow
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Sussex Weald
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,416
- URN
- 114587
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01435866066
About this school
Heathfield Community College is a community secondary school in Heathfield. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,416 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Heathfield Community College, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 239 | 230 | 232 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.6 | 49.5 | 50.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.53 +0.35 to +0.71 | +0.30 +0.11 to +0.50 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 59% | 49.6% | 53.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 82% | 73.9% | 73.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 33% | 42.2% | 51.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
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 Heathfield Community College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | East Sussex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54.6 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.5 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.6 | 33.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,470 |
| 2023/24 | 1,450 |
| 2024/25 | 1,437 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Heathfield Community College compares
Heathfield Community College ranked 1st of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.6 | 10.5% | 15.7% | 1,416 | — |
| Uplands Academy | 42.5 | 9% | 23.1% | 699 | 7.0 miles |
| Beacon Academy | 50.2 | 9.1% | 14.9% | 1,642 | 7.7 miles |
| Uckfield College | 47 | 10.6% | 14.8% | 1,671 | 7.7 miles |
| Robertsbridge Community College | — | 11.9% | — | 644 | 8.1 miles |
| Claverham Community College | 50.3 | 7.2% | 20.6% | 1,147 | 8.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
- 23 May 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report11 March 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.65%
- English as an additional language
- 2.1%
- Overall absence
- 10.48%
- Persistent absence
- 28.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Uplands Academy7.0 miles
Secondary · Wadhurst
-
Beacon Academy7.7 miles
Secondary · Crowborough
-
Uckfield College7.7 miles
Secondary · Uckfield
-
Robertsbridge Community College8.1 miles
Secondary · Robertsbridge
-
Claverham Community College8.9 miles
Secondary · Battle
Other schools in Heathfield
- All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cross-in-Hand Church of England Primary School Primary
- Dallington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Maynards Green Community Primary School Primary
- Parkside Community Primary School Primary
- Punnetts Town Community Primary and Nursery School Primary
- St Mary's School Academies
Common questions
- What ages does Heathfield Community College teach?
- Heathfield Community College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Heathfield.
- Who is the headteacher of Heathfield Community College?
- The headteacher of Heathfield Community College is Ms Caroline Barlow, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Heathfield Community College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Heathfield Community College, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Heathfield Community College?
- Heathfield Community College has 1,416 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Heathfield Community College full?
- Heathfield Community College has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,416 on roll (94%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Heathfield Community College a faith school?
- No. Heathfield Community College has no designated religious character.
- Is Heathfield Community College a selective school?
- No. Heathfield Community College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Heathfield Community College have?
- The schools register lists Heathfield Community College's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Heathfield Community College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 54.6 in 2022/23 and 50.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Heathfield Community College compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- Heathfield Community College ranked 1st of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Heathfield Community College's absence rate?
- Heathfield Community College's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Heathfield Community College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Heathfield Community College'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 30 June 2026.