St Catherine's College
Priory Road, Eastbourne, BN23 7BL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- DIOCESE OF CHICHESTER ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Solomon Berhane
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Chichester
- Sponsor
- Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Eastbourne
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,040
- Pupils on roll
- 1,064
- URN
- 143035
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01323465400
About this school
St Catherine's College is a Church of England secondary academy in Eastbourne. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,064 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Catherine's 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
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 212 | 209 | 215 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.7 | 48.1 | 47.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.19 -0.39 to 0.00 | +0.09 -0.11 to +0.28 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 50.7% | 45.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 76.1% | 73% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28% | 39.7% | 45.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.2 | 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 St Catherine's 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 | 44.7 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.1 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.6 | 33.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,077 |
| 2023/24 | 1,086 |
| 2024/25 | 1,072 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Catherine's College compares
St Catherine's College ranked 6th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% 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 | 47.6 | 8.7% | 25.3% | 1,064 | — |
| The Turing School | 34.6 | 15% | 40.5% | 771 | 1.3 miles |
| The Eastbourne Academy | 37.7 | 10.9% | 47.3% | 776 | 2.1 miles |
| Ratton School | 43 | 9.1% | 26.7% | 1,183 | 2.6 miles |
| Willingdon Community School | 45 | 7.4% | 19.6% | 1,117 | 3.5 miles |
| Bexhill High Academy | 41.7 | 8.9% | 31.1% | 1,441 | 7.2 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
-
Ungraded inspection report21 May 2025
- 19 November 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.28%
- English as an additional language
- 7.2%
- Overall absence
- 8.69%
- Persistent absence
- 24.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Turing School1.3 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
The Eastbourne Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
Ratton School2.6 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
Willingdon Community School3.5 miles
Secondary · Eastbourne
-
Bexhill High Academy7.2 miles
Secondary · Bexhill-on-Sea
Other schools in Eastbourne
St Catherine's College ranks 1st of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Eastbourne.
- Ratton School 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 St Catherine's College teach?
- St Catherine's College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Eastbourne.
- Who is the headteacher of St Catherine's College?
- The headteacher of St Catherine's College is Mr Solomon Berhane, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Catherine's College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Catherine's 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 St Catherine's College?
- St Catherine's College has 1,064 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Catherine's College full?
- St Catherine's College has capacity for 1,040 pupils and 1,064 on roll (102%), 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 St Catherine's College a faith school?
- Yes. St Catherine's College is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Chichester.
- Is St Catherine's College a selective school?
- No. St Catherine's College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Catherine's College part of an academy trust?
- St Catherine's College is part of DIOCESE OF CHICHESTER ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Catherine's College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.7 in 2022/23 and 47.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Catherine's College compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- St Catherine's College ranked 6th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% 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 St Catherine's College's absence rate?
- St Catherine's College's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Catherine's College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Catherine's 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 2 July 2026.