Uplands Academy
Lower High Street, Wadhurst, TN5 6AZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MARK EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Chris Connor
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Sussex Weald
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,000
- Pupils on roll
- 699
- URN
- 148945
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01892782135
About this school
Uplands Academy is a secondary academy in Wadhurst. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 699 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Uplands Academy, 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 15 January 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 139 | 135 | 119 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.3 | 44.4 | 42.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.13 -0.37 to +0.11 | -0.23 -0.47 to +0.02 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 40% | 37% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 63.7% | 69.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 64% | 65.2% | 43.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
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 Uplands 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 | 45.3 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.4 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.5 | 33.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 809 |
| 2023/24 | 799 |
| 2024/25 | 736 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Uplands Academy compares
Uplands Academy ranked 15th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% 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 | 42.5 | 9% | 23.1% | 699 | — |
| Skinners' Kent Academy | 38.4 | 8% | 31.1% | 1,017 | 5.9 miles |
| The Skinners' School | 70.8 | 3.4% | 5.8% | 1,149 | 6.7 miles |
| Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School | 73.4 | 5.1% | 3.5% | 1,123 | 6.8 miles |
| Bennett Memorial Diocesan School | 54 | 5.1% | 10.1% | 1,913 | 7.0 miles |
| Heathfield Community College | 50.6 | 10.5% | 15.7% | 1,416 | 7.0 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)
- 23.07%
- English as an additional language
- 3.3%
- Overall absence
- 9.04%
- Persistent absence
- 24.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Skinners' Kent Academy5.9 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
The Skinners' School6.7 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School6.8 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School7.0 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Heathfield Community College7.0 miles
Secondary · Heathfield
Other schools in Wadhurst
- Stonegate Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ticehurst and Flimwell Church of England Primary School Primary
- Wadhurst CofE Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Bricklehurst Manor School Special schools
- The Mount Camphill Community Ltd Other types
Common questions
- What ages does Uplands Academy teach?
- Uplands Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Wadhurst.
- Who is the headteacher of Uplands Academy?
- The headteacher of Uplands Academy is Mr Chris Connor, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Uplands Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Uplands 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 Uplands Academy?
- Uplands Academy has 699 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Uplands Academy full?
- Uplands Academy has capacity for 1,000 pupils and 699 on roll (70%), 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 Uplands Academy a faith school?
- No. Uplands Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Uplands Academy a selective school?
- No. Uplands Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Uplands Academy part of an academy trust?
- Uplands 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 Uplands Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.3 in 2022/23 and 42.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Uplands Academy compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- Uplands Academy ranked 15th of 22 secondary schools in East Sussex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% 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 Uplands Academy's absence rate?
- Uplands Academy's overall absence rate is 9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Uplands Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Uplands 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 10 July 2026.