The Cavendish School
Eldon Road, Eastbourne, BN21 1UE
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CAVENDISH EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Peter Marchant
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Cavendish School (Eastbourne)
- Constituency
- Eastbourne
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,320
- Pupils on roll
- 1,399
- URN
- 138475
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01323731340
About this school
The Cavendish School is an all-through academy in Eastbourne. It teaches children aged 2 to 16 and has 1,399 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Cavendish School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 61 | 59 | 62 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 77% | 71% | 82% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 92% | 78% | 89% |
| Expected standard in maths | 93% | 88% | 98% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 97% | 88% | 92% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 175 | 176 | 170 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.4 | 50.7 | 47.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.38 +0.16 to +0.59 | +0.47 +0.26 to +0.68 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 56.3% | 52.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 76.7% | 71.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 43% | 31.8% | 43.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
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 The Cavendish 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 | 77% | 54.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 56.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 82% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | East Sussex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48.4 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.7 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.3 | 33.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,362 |
| 2023/24 | 1,375 |
| 2024/25 | 1,372 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Cavendish School compares
The Cavendish School ranked 8th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.3 | 6.4% | 20.7% | 1,399 | — |
| Gildredge House | 46.7 | 6.4% | 18.8% | 1,169 | 0.8 miles |
| Hailsham Academy | — | 12% | — | 1,577 | 5.9 miles |
| Motcombe Infants' School | — | 6.3% | 18.1% | 219 | 0.2 miles |
| The South Downs School | — | 9.9% | 36.5% | 164 | 0.4 miles |
| Ocklynge Junior School | — | 5.1% | 30.2% | 720 | 0.4 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)
- 20.65%
- English as an additional language
- 8.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.4%
- Persistent absence
- 13.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Gildredge House0.8 miles
All-through · Eastbourne
-
Hailsham Academy5.9 miles
All-through · Hailsham
-
Motcombe Infants' School0.2 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
-
The South Downs School0.4 miles
Academies · Eastbourne
-
Ocklynge Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Eastbourne
Other schools in Eastbourne
The Cavendish School ranks 1st of the 14 ranked primary schools in Eastbourne, and The Cavendish School ranks 2nd of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Eastbourne.
- Gildredge House All-through
- 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
- Pashley Down Infant School Primary
- Roselands Infants' School Primary
- Shinewater Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Cavendish School teach?
- The Cavendish School teaches children aged 2 to 16. It is an all-through school in Eastbourne.
- Who is the headteacher of The Cavendish School?
- The headteacher of The Cavendish School is Mr Peter Marchant, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Cavendish School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Cavendish 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 The Cavendish School?
- The Cavendish School has 1,399 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 16.
- Is The Cavendish School full?
- The Cavendish School has capacity for 1,320 pupils and 1,399 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 The Cavendish School a faith school?
- No. The Cavendish School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Cavendish School a selective school?
- No. The Cavendish School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does The Cavendish School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Cavendish School as having nursery classes.
- Is The Cavendish School part of an academy trust?
- The Cavendish School is part of CAVENDISH EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Cavendish School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 77% in 2022/23 and 82% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Cavendish School compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- The Cavendish School ranked 8th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Cavendish School's absence rate?
- The Cavendish School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Cavendish School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Cavendish 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.