Ratton School
Park Avenue, Eastbourne, BN21 2XR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SOUTH DOWNS LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Gavin Peevers
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- South Downs Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Eastbourne
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,215
- Pupils on roll
- 1,183
- URN
- 138474
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01323504011
About this school
Ratton School is a secondary academy in Eastbourne. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,183 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ratton School, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 236 | 221 | 236 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.7 | 41.4 | 43.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.08 -0.11 to +0.26 | -0.10 -0.29 to +0.10 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 35.7% | 43.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 57% | 64% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 30% | 19% | 16.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
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 Ratton 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 | 45.7 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.4 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43 | 33.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,194 |
| 2023/24 | 1,177 |
| 2024/25 | 1,197 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ratton School compares
Ratton School ranked 13th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% 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 | 43 | 9.1% | 26.7% | 1,183 | — |
| The Eastbourne Academy | 37.7 | 10.9% | 47.3% | 776 | 0.8 miles |
| Willingdon Community School | 45 | 7.4% | 19.6% | 1,117 | 1.6 miles |
| The Turing School | 34.6 | 15% | 40.5% | 771 | 1.8 miles |
| St Catherine's College | 47.6 | 8.7% | 25.3% | 1,064 | 2.6 miles |
| Seaford Head School | 49.4 | 8.6% | 20.3% | 1,461 | 6.3 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.65%
- English as an additional language
- 13.5%
- Overall absence
- 9.11%
- Persistent absence
- 23.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Eastbourne Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
Willingdon Community School1.6 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
The Turing School1.8 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
St Catherine's College2.6 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
Seaford Head School6.3 miles
Secondary · Seaford
Other schools in Eastbourne
Ratton School ranks 5th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Eastbourne.
- St Catherine's College Secondary
- The Eastbourne Academy Secondary
- The Turing School Secondary
- Willingdon Community School Secondary
- Bourne Primary School Primary
- Heron Park Primary Academy Primary
- Langney Primary Academy Primary
- Motcombe Infants' School Primary
- Oakwood Primary Academy Primary
- Ocklynge Junior School Primary
- Parkland Infant School Primary
- Parkland Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Ratton School teach?
- Ratton School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Eastbourne.
- Who is the headteacher of Ratton School?
- The headteacher of Ratton School is Mr Gavin Peevers, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ratton School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ratton 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 many pupils are at Ratton School?
- Ratton School has 1,183 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Ratton School full?
- Ratton School has capacity for 1,215 pupils and 1,183 on roll (97%), 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 Ratton School a faith school?
- No. Ratton School has no designated religious character.
- Is Ratton School a selective school?
- No. Ratton School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Ratton School part of an academy trust?
- Ratton School is part of SOUTH DOWNS LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ratton School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.7 in 2022/23 and 43 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ratton School compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- Ratton School ranked 13th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% 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 Ratton School's absence rate?
- Ratton School's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ratton School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ratton 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 13 August 2026.