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Uplands Academy

Secondary Ages 11-16 699 pupils Wadhurst
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Wadhurst

Uplands Academy is an academy converter in Wadhurst for pupils aged 11 to 16. It has 699 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Uplands Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2017 of its predecessor, Uplands Community College. In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.4, and 52% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Ofsted inspection: March 2025. GCSE results: 2026. A-level results: 2025.

Type Secondary / Academy converter
Age Range 11-16
Religion Does not apply
Address Lower High Street
Wadhurst
East Sussex
TN5 6AZ
Phone 01892782135
Reference Number 148945

General Makeup

Number of pupils 699
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 54.08%
Girls: 45.92%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 22.7%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 4.3%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 23.4

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
7 51 67 118
8 77 71 148
9 77 63 140
10 83 64 147
11 90 56 146

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 85.4%
White, Other 5%
Mixed, Other 2.1%
Unclassified 1.9%
White & Asian 1.3%
White & Black (African) 1.1%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.9%
Asian, Other 0.4%
African 0.3%
Chinese 0.1%

This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, Uplands Community College, inspected in March 2017.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 14 Jan 2025 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
14 Jan 2025 School inspection
08 Sep 2022 Academy conversion letter

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

  • English
  • Maths
  • 3 subjects from qualifications that count towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), like sciences, language and history
  • 3 more GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or technical awards from a list approved by the Department for Education

Each grade a pupil gets is assigned a point score from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest). These scores are added up, with English and maths counted twice.

School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
46.4

GCSE Results

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths 52.1%
5 or more GCSEs at grade 9-4 (or A-C) 63%

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

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GCSE Results

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Grades

School Local Nationwide
Average Grade C- B- C+
Average Grade (best 3) C B- C+
Percentage Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Students getting AAB or better 15.4%
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Year 7 admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 107 31
Third Preference 72 8
From another Local Authority 129 70

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Uplands Academy had 730 pupils for 1,000 places. 270 places (27.0%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Year 7 intake in the “Wadhurst and Surrounding Secondary” planning area

East Sussex counted 153 Year 7 pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 137 in 2031–32, down 10%.

202320242025
Places 1,0001,0001,000
Pupils 807778730
Unfilled 19.3%22.2%27.0%

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Uplands Academy attended 91.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

202320242025
Authorised absence 7.8%8.4%6.4%
Unauthorised absence 2.6%2.9%2.6%
Severely absent pupils 5.2%6.0%4.3%

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 14.7% of pupils at Uplands Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 5.922.032.953.4
Permanent exclusions 0011

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Uplands Academy had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2023202420252026
Pupils per adult 15.311.811.310.3
Teachers who left state teaching 15.4%12.4%18.6%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 87.2%85.7%71.2%–
Sick days per teacher 3.74.13.6–

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 13.3% of pupils at Uplands Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Other difficulty or disability 25 10
Social, emotional and mental health 29 6
Specific learning difficulty 28 3
Autistic spectrum disorder 5 4
Moderate learning difficulty 5 0
Physical disability 1 2
Speech, language and communication needs 0 1

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Uplands Academy received £8,034 and spent £8,979 for each of its 738 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £521,000 (-£705 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Mark Education Trust, income was £7,615 and spending £7,798 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

202320242025
Revenue reserve £486,000£99,000-£521,000
per pupil £601£124-£705
In-year balance £715,000-£647,000-£698,000
per pupil £884-£809-£945

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

Name Distance
Wadhurst CofE Primary School and Nursery
Sparrows Green Road, Sparrow Green, Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 6SR
0.48 miles
Sacred Heart School
0.78 miles
Stonegate Church of England Primary School
Station Road, Stonegate, Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 7EN
2.53 miles
Ticehurst and Flimwell Church of England Primary School
Steellands Rise, Ticehurst, Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 7DH
3.45 miles
Lamberhurst St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School
Pearse Place, Lamberhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 8EJ
3.48 miles
Mark Cross Church of England Aided Primary School
Mark Cross, Crowborough, East Sussex, TN6 3PJ
3.6 miles
Frant Church of England Primary School
Church Lane, Frant, Tunbridge Wells, East Sussex, TN3 9DX
4.11 miles
Mayfield Church of England Primary School
Fletching Street, Mayfield, East Sussex, TN20 6TA
4.33 miles
Burwash CofE School
School Hill, Burwash, Etchingham, East Sussex, TN19 7DZ
4.88 miles
Name Distance
Bricklehurst Manor School
Bardown Road, Stonegate, Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 7EL
1.91 miles
Mayfield School
The Old Palace, Mayfield, TN20 6PH
4.34 miles

All schools in Wadhurst · East Sussex local authority: places and applications

Uplands Academy is part of Mark Education Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

What is Uplands Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Uplands Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2017 of its predecessor, Uplands Community College.

When was Uplands Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Uplands Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Uplands Academy have?

Uplands Academy has 699 pupils on roll.

What age range does Uplands Academy cover?

Uplands Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Uplands Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.4, and 52% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Uplands Academy?

Uplands Academy is at Lower High Street, Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 6AZ.

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