St Mary's School and 6th Form College
Special school school · Non-maintained special school · ages 5 to 19 · Mixed
Wrestwood Road, Bexhill on Sea, TN40 2LU
- Pupils221
- Ages5 to 19
- Latest Ofsted22 Mar 2022
- FundingState-funded
Ofsted inspections
Shown exactly as Ofsted published them, each with its own date.
Graded inspection · 22 Mar 2022
Overall effectiveness: Good
- Quality of educationGood
- Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
- Personal developmentGood
- Leadership and managementOutstanding
- Sixth form provisionGood
- Safeguarding is effectiveYes
Grades run from Outstanding to Inadequate (four steps, left to right).
Serious Weaknesses S5 Reinspection · report published 17 May 2022
Read the full reports on Ofsted’s website (opens in a new tab) — they explain the reasons behind each grade.
Source: Ofsted, state-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (latest inspections as at 30 September 2026). Newer inspections may be on Ofsted’s website. How Ofsted inspections work.
Results
GCSE results (end of Year 11, key stage 4)
Latest: 2025/26 (provisional) · 15 pupils. Each figure shows its year. What these mean
2025/26 results are provisional: the DfE will revise them (next update due February 2027). The provisional data has no EBacc figures, so EBacc is from an earlier year.
Attainment 8 score
Each pupil’s results across 8 qualifications (maths counts double, and English usually does too), averaged across the school. It partly reflects pupils’ starting points.
2025/26 (provisional)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs
Often called a “strong pass” in both subjects.
2025/26 (provisional)
Grade 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs
Often called a “standard pass” in both subjects.
2025/26 (provisional)
Progress 8 score
Compares pupils’ Attainment 8 results with pupils across England who had similar results at the end of primary school. 0 means about the same; above 0 means more progress, below 0 less. How to read Progress 8.
2023/24 — the latest year with Progress 8
−1.32
The DfE gives a range of −2.20 to −0.44 (95% confidence interval). The whole range is below 0, so progress was below the national average.
DfE banding: Well below average
East Sussex, same year: −0.18
England (state-funded schools), same year: −0.03
The Department for Education says Progress 8 can’t be calculated for 2024/25 or 2025/26, because those pupils had no key stage 2 test results (the tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19). Progress 8 is a relative, in-year measure, so it can’t be compared directly year on year.
Entered for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
Pupils entered for all 5 EBacc “pillars”: English, maths, science, history or geography, and a language.
2024/25
EBacc average point score
Pupils’ point scores across the 5 EBacc pillars.
2024/25
Earlier years
| Year | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ English & maths | Grade 4+ English & maths | Progress 8 | EBacc entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 7.7 | 0% | 13.3% | Not available | – |
| 2024/25 | 10.1 | 7.7% | 7.7% | Not available | 0% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9 | 0% | 0% | −1.32 | 0% |
Results describe a different group of pupils each year. Progress 8 is a relative measure and can’t be compared year on year.
Results describe one group of pupils in one year, so they can change a lot — especially in small schools. The DfE says “conclusions should not be drawn on a single piece of data alone.” This school on the DfE’s performance tables (opens in a new tab).
Source: Department for Education, school performance tables and Explore education statistics (key stage 4, 2025/26 provisional). England and local authority figures are the DfE’s own, for the same year.
Pupils and attendance
- Pupils
- 221 (capacity 250)
70 girls, 151 boys - Eligible for free school meals
- 38.7% (currently eligible, census of January 2026)
Pupils with SEN support
Special educational needs, without an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
2024/25
Pupils with an EHC plan
An education, health and care plan sets out the support a child must get.
2024/25
Eligible for free school meals at any time in the last 6 years
2024/25
First language not English
This is not a measure of how well pupils speak English.
2024/25
Attendance
Overall absence
The share of possible mornings and afternoons missed, for any reason (authorised or not).
2024/25
Persistent absence
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions.
2024/25
Sources: Get Information about Schools; DfE school census and absence statistics via the performance tables. What these figures mean.
About the school
- Type
- Non-maintained special school (Special schools)
- Boys, girls or mixed
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Inter- / non- denominational
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- Special needs catered for
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Opened
- 19 April 2001
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Parliamentary constituency
- Bexhill and Battle
- URN
- 133653 (the DfE’s reference number for the school)
Source: Get Information about Schools (Department for Education). See the full record (opens in a new tab).
Admissions
A school named in a child’s education, health and care (EHC) plan must give them a place. Ask your council about places at special schools.
How school admissions work: deadlines, oversubscription and appeals.