The Hastings Academy Review 2026: Improving culture, clear routines, and a strong focus on attendance

This is a mixed, non-selective secondary academy for students aged 11 to 16 in Hastings, with around 900 places and no sixth form. It sits within the University of Brighton Academies Trust, and its current leadership team took up post in September 2022, which matters because many of the school’s current systems, expectations, and routines are part of an ongoing reset.

The most recent graded inspection (26 and 27 September 2023) judged the school Requires Improvement across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. Safeguarding arrangements were confirmed as effective, which is an important baseline for families weighing a school that is still improving consistency.

Academically, the FindMySchool dataset points to a challenging GCSE picture. Attainment 8 is 33.4 and Progress 8 is -1.29, with the school ranked 3,603rd in England for GCSE outcomes and 2nd locally within Hastings.

The school’s published materials lean heavily into structure and clarity. For families, this tends to translate into routines that make the day predictable, with a stated emphasis on being “Ambitious for All” and on removing distractions from learning. One concrete example is the phone-free approach described in student-facing guidance, using a Yondr pouch system to keep mobiles out of lessons and social time.

The wider tone is one of “improving, but not yet uniform”. Official findings describe behaviour as getting better, alongside an acknowledgement that low-level disruption can still appear when expectations are not applied consistently across classrooms. That combination often feels different depending on a child’s timetable and year group, so families should probe consistency when they visit and ask how behaviour expectations are embedded across departments.

Pastoral structures are positioned as a strength, with students pointed towards trusted adults and a support system that sits alongside the academic agenda. The personal, social, health education programme is described as extensive, but still bedding in, which is a familiar pattern in schools that are rebuilding culture and routines at the same time.

Headline performance indicators in the FindMySchool dataset suggest outcomes below England norms for a number of measures.

Ranked 3,603rd in England and 2nd in Hastings for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data)

In plain English, the England ranking places the school below the England average overall, within the lower-performing segment nationally.

Looking at individual measures provided:

• Attainment 8: 33.4

• Progress 8: -1.29

• EBacc average point score: 2.86, compared with an England figure of 4.08

• Percentage achieving grade 5 or above across the EBacc: 5.8

For parents, the key implication is that the school’s improvement work needs to translate into consistently strong day-to-day learning, especially for students who need careful scaffolding, routine checking for understanding, and steady behaviour norms to thrive academically.

Curriculum intent is described as coherent from Year 7 through Year 11, with an explicit “Foundation and Higher” strand model designed to revisit and deepen learning over time. In subjects, the published curriculum information points to a mix of academic GCSEs and vocational options, including GCSE pathways in areas such as Computer Science, languages, History and Geography, alongside BTEC-style routes in subjects such as Sport, Information Technology, Drama, and Dance.

What this looks like in practice can be seen in the detailed Year 7 curriculum overview, which sets out specific texts and topics across the year. English, for example, includes structured study of set works such as A Christmas Carol, alongside poetry and drama units. In Science, one KS3 plan explicitly connects learning to local context, including ecosystems and coastal geography, with suggested trips and fieldwork-style activities.

The improvement priority, based on official evidence, is consistency. The curriculum is described as appropriate, engaging, and challenging, but not taught consistently well enough across subjects to secure the progress students should be making. For families, the practical question is how the school quality-assures lessons, supports subject teams, and identifies gaps early, particularly for students who are at risk of falling behind.

There is no sixth form, so most students will make a post-16 transition at the end of Year 11. In this context, the practical quality marker is how well the school supports guidance, applications, and the move into sixth form college, further education, apprenticeships, or training routes.

Careers education is described as planned to help students understand next steps, though some students report that advice can feel insufficiently tailored or frequent. Parents of Year 9 to Year 11 students should ask how one-to-one guidance is delivered, what employer encounters are offered, and how the school supports applications for courses with competitive entry.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through East Sussex, rather than direct application to the academy. For September 2026 entry, the school publishes a clear set of deadlines: applications open in September 2025, the closing date is 31 October 2025, and national offer day is 2 March 2026. Late applications with a good reason and supporting evidence are accepted up to 31 January 2026.

From September 2026, the published admission number for Year 7 is 180. If applications exceed places, priority is set by oversubscription criteria, with distance used as a core tie-break mechanism, measured as a straight-line distance from the main entrance to the child’s home address using Ordnance Survey data.

The school also publishes appeal timings for the September 2026 round, including an appeal deadline of 27 March 2026 and hearings running through April to June.

Families considering an application should use the FindMySchool Map Search to understand how their home location may compare under distance-based criteria, then sanity-check this against the local authority’s measurement approach.

Pastoral support is described as effective and most students report feeling safe, which is a critical underpin for learning, attendance, and behaviour. The school also sets out safeguarding expectations and its role in responding to unexplained absence, reinforcing that attendance is treated as a safeguarding matter as well as an academic one.

On bullying and peer culture, the school’s policy framework references structured approaches such as The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassadors programme, which is intended to train and support students to take responsibility for improving peer behaviour. In practical terms, this tends to work best when paired with reliable reporting routes and a consistent classroom culture, since official evidence indicates some incidents may not be reported even when leaders respond well to those that are raised.

Extracurricular detail is unusually specific, which helps families judge fit beyond general claims.

One published clubs timetable includes named options such as Dungeons & Dragons Club, Warhammer & Hobby Club, Globetrotters, Female Leads Society, Classics Club, Science Club, Book Club, and an LGBQTI+ Club, alongside sport-specific clubs and study support such as KS3 and KS4 homework clubs and subject intervention sessions.

The evidence-based implication is straightforward: students who benefit from structured, supervised after-school time have multiple entry points, whether that is academic catch-up, a niche interest group, or sport. For families, it is worth asking how consistently clubs run across the year, how places are allocated, and how the school supports participation for students who rely on transport.

The published daily structure includes an end of day at 15:10, with after-school activities running 15:20 to 16:20. Breakfast club is available from 07:30, with gates open at 08:25 and closing at 08:35. Breakfast club is described as free and open to all students.

For travel, school materials reference eligibility-led support via East Sussex County Council for contracted buses, public buses, and trains, including photo passes and a Freedom Pass approach for public bus services, subject to restrictions. Families should confirm eligibility and current arrangements with the local authority, especially if travel reliability is a key factor in attendance.

• Outcomes are currently a key weakness. Progress 8 is -1.29 in the FindMySchool dataset, which indicates students are, on average, making significantly less progress than peers nationally from similar starting points. This matters most for students who need steady momentum and frequent checking for understanding.

• Consistency of behaviour routines remains a live issue. The school has clear policies, but classroom experience can vary if staff apply expectations unevenly, which can be frustrating for students who want calm lessons.

• Attendance is improving, but not yet where it needs to be. Persistent absence and regular non-attendance are identified as barriers, and families should be aligned with the school’s expectations and follow-up.

• No sixth form. Students will need to plan a post-16 move at the end of Year 11, so the strength of guidance and the fit of local options should be part of the decision from Year 9 onwards.

The Hastings Academy is a school in active improvement mode, with a relatively new leadership team and a strong emphasis on clearer routines, stronger attendance, and a more settled learning climate. Safeguarding is a secure foundation, and the published extracurricular offer includes a genuinely varied set of clubs that can help students build belonging alongside learning.

Who it suits: families who want a local, inclusive secondary with structured routines and who are prepared to engage actively around attendance, behaviour expectations, and learning habits, particularly where a child needs clear boundaries and supervised after-school options. Families prioritising consistently strong academic outcomes today, rather than as an improvement trajectory, should weigh the current results carefully.