The Cavendish School[1]

Secondary · All-through · ages 2–16

Headline results

Attainment 8: A8 48 48.2 2025/26[2]
KS2 reading, writing & maths: expected standard: KS2 82% 82% 2024/25[3]

Results

GCSE (key stage 4)

Attainment 8: 48.2 2025/26[2]
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 51.1% 2025/26[2]
Grade 7+ in English & maths: 12.1% 2025/26[2]
Progress 8: +0.47 2023/24[4]
Progress 8, 2025/26: Not calculated[5]
Progress 8, 2024/25: Not calculated[5]

Earlier years
Year	Attainment 8	Grade 5+ in English & maths	Progress 8
2024/25	47.3[6]	52.9%[6]
2023/24	50.7[4]	56.3%[4]	+0.47[4]
2022/23	48.4[7]	50%[7]	+0.38[7]
2021/22	52.6[8]	53%[8]	+0.52[8]

Primary (key stage 2)

Expected standard (reading, writing & maths): 82% 2024/25[3]
Higher standard (reading, writing & maths): 10% 2024/25[3]
Reading, average scaled score: 108 2024/25[3]
Maths, average scaled score: 109 2024/25[3]

Earlier years
Year	Expected standard (reading, writing & maths)	Higher standard (reading, writing & maths)	Reading, average scaled score	Maths, average scaled score
2023/24	71%[9]	10%[9]	107[9]	107[9]
2022/23	77%[10]	10%[10]	109[10]	108[10]

Destinations after GCSEs

Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment: 92% 2022/23[11]
School sixth form: 3% 2022/23[11]
Sixth-form college: 28% 2022/23[11]
Further education college: 57% 2022/23[11]
Apprenticeship: 2% 2022/23[11]
Employment: 0% 2022/23[11]

Earlier leavers
Left in	Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment	School sixth form	Sixth-form college	Further education college	Apprenticeship	Employment
2021/22	94%[12]	1%[12]	39%[12]	45%[12]	4%[12]	3%[12]
2020/21	91%[13]	2%[13]	34%[13]	49%[13]	1%[13]	3%[13]
2019/20	90%[14]	3%[14]	34%[14]	47%[14]	1%[14]	2%[14]
2018/19	94%[15]	5%[15]	14%[15]	67%[15]	2%[15]	1%[15]

Shares of the pupils who left in the year shown. Russell Group and Oxford or Cambridge figures were published for leavers up to 2019/20 only.

Ofsted

Latest inspection: 28 Jan 2025[16]
Type: S5 Inspection[16]
Report published: 2 Mar 2025[16]
Personal development: Outstanding[16]
Quality of education: Outstanding[16]
Behaviour and attitudes: Outstanding[16]
Safeguarding is effective?: Yes[16]
Early years provision (where applicable): Outstanding[16]
Effectiveness of leadership and management: Outstanding[16]

Earlier inspections
Inspection	Type	Overall
19 Sep 2023[17]	Section 8 inspection of good and outstanding schools[17]	No overall grade[17]
20 Mar 2018[18]	S5 Inspection[18]	Good[18]

Competition to get in

Applications and offers, Year 7

Applications per place: 5.3 Entry Sept 2026[19]
Applications (any preference): 630 Entry Sept 2026[19]
First preferences: 182 Entry Sept 2026[19]
Places offered: 118 Entry Sept 2026[19]
First preferences per place: 1.5 Entry Sept 2026[19]

Earlier years
Entry	Applications	First preferences	Places offered	Per place	First preferences per place
Entry Sept 2025	620[19]	190[19]	118[19]	5.3[19]	1.6[19]
Entry Sept 2024	580[19]	193[19]	117[19]	5.0[19]	1.6[19]
Entry Sept 2023	555[19]	217[19]	116[19]	4.8[19]	1.9[19]
Entry Sept 2022	528[19]	229[19]	119[19]	4.4[19]	1.9[19]

Applications and offers, Reception

Applications per place: 3.6 Entry Sept 2026[19]
Applications (any preference): 218 Entry Sept 2026[19]
First preferences: 97 Entry Sept 2026[19]
Places offered: 60 Entry Sept 2026[19]
First preferences per place: 1.6 Entry Sept 2026[19]

Earlier years
Entry	Applications	First preferences	Places offered	Per place	First preferences per place
Entry Sept 2025	189[19]	57[19]	60[19]	3.1[19]	0.9[19]
Entry Sept 2024	187[19]	83[19]	60[19]	3.1[19]	1.4[19]
Entry Sept 2023	181[19]	79[19]	60[19]	3.0[19]	1.3[19]
Entry Sept 2022	198[19]	85[19]	60[19]	3.3[19]	1.4[19]

Character & practicalities

Type: Academy converter[1]
Ages: 2–16[1]
Boys / girls: Mixed[1]
Admissions: Non-selective[1]
Sixth form: No[1]
Boarding: No boarders[1]
Capacity: 1320[1]
Trust: CAVENDISH EDUCATION TRUST[1]
Local authority: East Sussex[1]
Website: https://cavendish.cet.uk/[1]
District: Eastbourne [20]
Postcode: BN21 1UE[1]
URN: 138475[1]

School details as recorded in Get Information About Schools on 14 Oct 2026.

Pupils

Number on roll: 1372 2024/25[21]
English as an additional language: 8.7% 2024/25[21]
SEN support: 10.1% 2024/25[21]
EHC plan: 1.7% 2024/25[21]
Free school meals in the last 6 years: 20.7% 2024/25[21]

Pupils' ethnicity 2025/26

White: 83.6%[22]
Mixed: 7.2%[22]
Asian: 5%[22]
Black: 1.7%[22]
Any other ethnic group: 1.4%[22]
Unclassified: 1.1%[22]

The school census's major ethnic groups as shares of the school's pupils, summed by us from the published counts. For information only: never used to rank, filter or colour schools.

Sources

Department for Education: Get Information About Schools: all establishments. Period 2026-10-14, published 2026-10-14. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Performance tables schools data (explore education statistics). Period 2025/26, provisional, published 2026-10-15. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS2 final. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2023/24, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Key stage 4 performance 2024/25: data guidance. Period 2024/25. Archived copy; original. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Quote
It is not possible to calculate Progress 8 for academic years 2024/25 and 2025/26 due to gaps in the baseline caused by COVID-19 disruption.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS2 final. Period 2023/24, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS2 final. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2020/21, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2019/20, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2018/19, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2024/25. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2023/24. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2017/18. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Primary and secondary school applications and offers: school level. Period Entry Sept 2026, final, published 2026-06-29. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Office for National Statistics: Parish to Ward to Local Authority District (May 2026) Lookup in EW. Period 2026-05-01. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: School census. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Schools, pupils and their characteristics: school level underlying data. Period 2025/26, published 2026-06-04. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.