Peacehaven Heights Academy
Hoddern Avenue, Peacehaven, BN10 7QY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- STEP ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr David Dowling
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- STEP ACADEMY TRUST
- Constituency
- Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 339
- URN
- 148961
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273575989
About this school
Peacehaven Heights Academy is a primary academy in Peacehaven. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 339 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Peacehaven Heights Academy, 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 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 41 | 55 | 56 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 59% | 56% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 4% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 63% | 65% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 76% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 53% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 101.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 101.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.60 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How Peacehaven Heights 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 | 59% | 54.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 56.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 379 |
| 2023/24 | 383 |
| 2024/25 | 373 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Peacehaven Heights Academy compares
Peacehaven Heights Academy ranked 14th of 131 primary schools in East Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 6.6% | 37.5% | 339 | — |
| Telscombe Cliffs Academy | 62% | 5.6% | 21.1% | 521 | 0.4 miles |
| Meridian Community Primary School and Nursery | 31% | 6.2% | 27.5% | 449 | 0.6 miles |
| Breakwater Academy | 81% | 4.6% | 46% | 144 | 1.7 miles |
| Saltdean Primary School | 52% | 4.6% | 17.9% | 533 | 1.8 miles |
| High Cliff Academy | 76% | 7.2% | 35.8% | 154 | 2.1 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)
- 37.46%
- English as an additional language
- 15.5%
- Overall absence
- 6.58%
- Persistent absence
- 18.71%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Telscombe Cliffs Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Peacehaven
-
Meridian Community Primary School and Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Peacehaven
-
Breakwater Academy1.7 miles
Primary · Newhaven
-
Saltdean Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
High Cliff Academy2.1 miles
Primary · Newhaven
Other schools in Peacehaven
- Meridian Community Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Telscombe Cliffs Academy Primary
- Peacehaven Community School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Peacehaven Heights Academy teach?
- Peacehaven Heights Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Peacehaven.
- Who is the headteacher of Peacehaven Heights Academy?
- The headteacher of Peacehaven Heights Academy is Mr David Dowling, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Peacehaven Heights Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Peacehaven Heights 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 Peacehaven Heights Academy?
- Peacehaven Heights Academy has 339 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Peacehaven Heights Academy full?
- Peacehaven Heights Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 339 on roll (81%), 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 Peacehaven Heights Academy a faith school?
- No. Peacehaven Heights Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Peacehaven Heights Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Peacehaven Heights Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Peacehaven Heights Academy part of an academy trust?
- Peacehaven Heights Academy is part of STEP ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Peacehaven Heights Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 59% in 2022/23 and 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Peacehaven Heights Academy compare with other schools in East Sussex?
- Peacehaven Heights Academy ranked 14th of 131 primary schools in East Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Peacehaven Heights Academy's absence rate?
- Peacehaven Heights Academy's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Peacehaven Heights Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Peacehaven Heights 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.