Ark Alexandra Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,315 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.6
Academy converter
The Cavendish School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,399of 1,320 places
- Free school meals
- 17.9%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 170
- Ofsted
- School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next, 28 January 2025Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: The Cavendish School (URN 114605, until 1 August 2012).
What the data says
The Cavendish School has no sixth form. Of the 175 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 28% moved to a sixth form college, 57% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
Photography is unusually popular at GCSE: 24% of the year group took it, against 6% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 47.3 against 46.1 across England and 43.1 in East Sussex, with 53% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, The Cavendish School is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in East Sussex and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Cavendish School | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 175 | 5,083 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 92% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 90% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 3% | 14% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 28% | 24% | 13% |
| — further education college | 57% | 44% | 37% |
| — other education | 2% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 2% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Cavendish School | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 47.3 | 43.1 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 44% | 37% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.17 | 3.80 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 26% | 26% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 41.3 | 30.3 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 49.4 | 47.6 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 10% | 7% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 170 | 100% | 88% | 17% | 22% | 76% |
| English Language | 170 | 100% | 89% | 13% | 20% | 72% |
| English Literature | 167 | 98% | 86% | 21% | 21% | 75% |
| Combined Science | 104 | 61% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 51% |
| Geography | 101 | 59% | 41% | 16% | 25% | 61% |
| History | 78 | 46% | 41% | 24% | 26% | 55% |
| Physics | 60 | 35% | 23% | 28% | 46% | 93% |
| Biology | 60 | 35% | 23% | 47% | 45% | 97% |
| Chemistry | 60 | 35% | 23% | 42% | 47% | 93% |
| Physical Education | 55 | 32% | 11% | 18% | 24% | 75% |
| Photography | 40 | 24% | 6% | 35% | 19% | 85% |
| Computer Science | 40 | 24% | 13% | 8% | 30% | 53% |
| Spanish | 39 | 23% | 19% | 13% | 27% | 64% |
| French | 34 | 20% | 18% | 26% | 29% | 71% |
| Graphic Communication | 25 | 15% | 1% | 40% | 23% | 68% |
| Drama | 20 | 12% | 7% | 5% | 27% | 50% |
| Film Studies | 19 | 11% | 1% | 0% | 20% | 32% |
| Textiles | 14 | 8% | 2% | 29% | 27% | 93% |
| Fine Art | 11 | 6% | 9% | 55% | 28% | 91% |
| Music | 7 | 4% | 5% | 29% | 33% | 100% |
| Polish | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Turkish | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Persian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 54 | — | — |
| Childcare Skills | 14 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 11 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 6 | — | — |
| Beauty Care / Services | 1 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 1 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in East Sussex
Beacon Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,642 pupils
88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.2
Bexhill High Academy
Academy converter · 1,441 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.7
Chailey School
Community school · 862 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.3
Claverham Community College
Community school · 1,147 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.3
Gildredge House
Free schools · 1,169 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.7
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.