Beacon Academy
North Beeches Road, Crowborough, TN6 2AS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MARK EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Keith Slattery
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Sussex Weald
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,550
- Pupils on roll
- 1,642
- URN
- 137982
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01892603000
About this school
Beacon Academy is a secondary academy in Crowborough. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,642 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Beacon Academy, 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- 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 | 248 | 259 | 252 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.7 | 52.1 | 50.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.43 +0.24 to +0.61 | +0.50 +0.32 to +0.68 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 60% | 59.5% | 61.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 78% | 78.4% | 80.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 42% | 45.2% | 27.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.4 |
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 Beacon Academy 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 | 51.7 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.1 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.2 | 33.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,592 |
| 2023/24 | 1,619 |
| 2024/25 | 1,662 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Beacon Academy compares
Beacon Academy ranked 3rd of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 76% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.2 | 9.1% | 14.9% | 1,642 | — |
| Uckfield College | 47 | 10.6% | 14.8% | 1,671 | 6.4 miles |
| Bennett Memorial Diocesan School | 54 | 5.1% | 10.1% | 1,913 | 6.9 miles |
| The Skinners' School | 70.8 | 3.4% | 5.8% | 1,149 | 7.2 miles |
| Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School | 73.4 | 5.1% | 3.5% | 1,123 | 7.2 miles |
| Uplands Academy | 42.5 | 9% | 23.1% | 699 | 7.3 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
- 16 April 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report8 December 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 14.85%
- English as an additional language
- 5.3%
- Overall absence
- 9.09%
- Persistent absence
- 23.76%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Uckfield College6.4 miles
Secondary · Uckfield
-
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School6.9 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
The Skinners' School7.2 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School7.2 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Uplands Academy7.3 miles
Secondary · Wadhurst
Other schools in Crowborough
- Ashdown Primary School Primary
- Jarvis Brook Primary School Primary
- Mark Cross Church of England Aided Primary School Primary
- Rotherfield Primary School Primary
- Sir Henry Fermor Church of England Primary School Primary
- St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Marys Catholic Primary School Primary
- Acre Wood Academy Academies
Common questions
- What ages does Beacon Academy teach?
- Beacon Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Crowborough.
- Who is the headteacher of Beacon Academy?
- The headteacher of Beacon Academy is Mr Keith Slattery, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Beacon Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Beacon Academy, 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 Beacon Academy?
- Beacon Academy has 1,642 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Beacon Academy full?
- Beacon Academy has capacity for 1,550 pupils and 1,642 on roll (106%), so it is at or above 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 Beacon Academy a faith school?
- No. Beacon Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Beacon Academy a selective school?
- No. Beacon Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Beacon Academy part of an academy trust?
- Beacon Academy is part of MARK EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Beacon Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.7 in 2022/23 and 50.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Beacon Academy compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- Beacon Academy ranked 3rd of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 76% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Beacon Academy's absence rate?
- Beacon Academy's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Beacon Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Beacon Academy'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 1 July 2026.