Seaford Head School
Arundel Road, Seaford, BN25 4LX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SEAFORD LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Robert Ellis
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Lewes
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,555
- Pupils on roll
- 1,461
- URN
- 138473
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01323891623
About this school
Seaford Head School is a secondary academy in Seaford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,461 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 16 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 224 | 232 | 232 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.8 | 50.2 | 49.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.36 +0.17 to +0.55 | +0.47 +0.28 to +0.65 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 58.2% | 50% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 74.6% | 74.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 36% | 73.3% | 84.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
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 Seaford Head 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 | East Sussex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.8 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.2 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.4 | 33.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,376 |
| 2023/24 | 1,408 |
| 2024/25 | 1,448 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Seaford Head School compares
Seaford Head School ranked 4th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.4 | 8.6% | 20.3% | 1,461 | — |
| Seahaven Academy | 40.3 | 12.6% | 35.2% | 701 | 3.6 miles |
| Peacehaven Community School | 40.1 | 11.2% | 23.5% | 890 | 5.3 miles |
| Willingdon Community School | 45 | 7.4% | 19.6% | 1,117 | 6.1 miles |
| Ratton School | 43 | 9.1% | 26.7% | 1,183 | 6.3 miles |
| The Eastbourne Academy | 37.7 | 10.9% | 47.3% | 776 | 6.9 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 20.26%
- English as an additional language
- 5.2%
- Overall absence
- 8.63%
- Persistent absence
- 22.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Seahaven Academy3.6 miles
Secondary · Newhaven
-
Peacehaven Community School5.3 miles
Secondary · Peacehaven
-
Willingdon Community School6.1 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
Ratton School6.3 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
The Eastbourne Academy6.9 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
Other schools in Seaford
- Annecy Catholic Primary School Primary
- Chyngton School Primary
- Cradle Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Seaford Primary School Primary
- Bowden House School Special schools
- Cuckmere House School Academies
Common questions
- What year groups does Seaford Head School teach?
- Seaford Head School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Seaford.
- Who is the headteacher of Seaford Head School?
- The headteacher of Seaford Head School is Robert Ellis, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Seaford Head School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Seaford Head 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 Seaford Head School?
- Seaford Head School has 1,461 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Seaford Head School full?
- Seaford Head School has capacity for 1,555 pupils and 1,461 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 Seaford Head School a faith school?
- No. Seaford Head School has no designated religious character.
- Is Seaford Head School a selective school?
- No. Seaford Head School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Seaford Head School?
- Seaford Head School is part of SEAFORD LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Seaford Head School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.8 in 2022/23 and 49.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Seaford Head School rank locally?
- Seaford Head School ranked 4th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Seaford Head School's absence rate?
- Seaford Head School's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Seaford Head School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Seaford Head 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 1 July 2026.