Seahaven Academy Review 2026: A small coastal secondary with a clear character focus

A 11 to 16 academy serving Newhaven and nearby communities, Seahaven Academy combines a traditional secondary structure with an explicit focus on “education with character”, organised around the values of kindness, confidence and ambition. The school is part of United Learning Trust, which shapes curriculum design and staff development, while admissions are coordinated through East Sussex County Council.

Leadership has been refreshed recently, with Principal Mark Newnham Reeve taking up post in September 2024.

The most recent inspection (November 2025, published January 2026) uses the newer report-card style grades. Seahaven was assessed at Expected standard across the main areas, with safeguarding standards met.

The school’s public-facing identity is unusually consistent across documents and day-to-day routines. The three core values, kindness, confidence and ambition, are used as working language rather than marketing. That matters because it gives families a clearer sense of what the school is trying to reinforce, from behaviour expectations to how pupils are encouraged to take on responsibility.

There is also a deliberate “belonging” theme. External review material describes calm classrooms, respectful relationships, and pupils who trust staff to address concerns such as bullying and discriminatory behaviour. Pastoral support is presented as a strength, with systems that identify pupils who need help managing behaviour or emotions and provide timely support.

As a smaller secondary by England norms, the scale can work in families’ favour. With about 745 pupils on roll against a capacity of 900, the school sits below typical size for this phase; that often makes it easier to keep communication tight and spot issues early.

Headline performance sits broadly in line with the middle of the England distribution, with some indicators below average and others showing improvement over time.

Rankings provide the clearest overall positioning. Ranked 2,668th in England and 1st in Newhaven for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), results align with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile). This is a local first place on the FindMySchool measure, but not an “elite” national outcome, so families should read it as solid performance with clear areas to strengthen.

On GCSE-related measures provided here, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 39.2. Progress 8 is -0.23, which indicates pupils make slightly below average progress from their starting points, relative to similar pupils nationally. Performance in the English Baccalaureate strand is a clear development area, with an average EBacc APS of 3.6 compared with an England average of 4.08, and 16.3% achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure provided.

For parents comparing options locally, the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool are a useful way to view this school’s outcomes alongside other nearby secondaries, using the same data basis throughout.

Curriculum intent is framed through the United Learning core curriculum model, with an emphasis on careful sequencing and “powerful knowledge” building over time. The published curriculum statements point to a broad, balanced offer, with subject coherence treated as a design priority rather than leaving consistency to individual departments.

The learning routine is also structured. Knowledge organisers are used to support recall practice and to prepare for end-of-unit testing, including a recurring assessment point referenced as the Haven Hundred. For many pupils, this kind of predictable academic rhythm can reduce anxiety and make independent revision more manageable because expectations are clearer.

Teaching quality is described as generally strong, with staff using subject expertise to explain concepts well and assessment commonly used to check understanding. The main refinement point flagged in formal review material is the consistency of adaptations for pupils with specific barriers to learning; the direction of travel is positive, but refinement is still needed for some learners to benefit as much as they could across all subjects.

As an 11 to 16 school, Seahaven’s “next step” is post-16 transition rather than an internal sixth form pathway. That has two practical implications.

First, careers guidance becomes more important earlier, because pupils need to understand routes into sixth form, college, apprenticeships, and technical options before Year 11 decisions crystallise. The school’s materials describe careers advice and guidance that helps pupils feel informed about next steps, and this aligns well with an 11 to 16 model where staying on site is not an option.

Second, families should plan for continuity. The school signposts local post-16 providers and open events information, which can be helpful for building a realistic shortlist (for example, regional sixth form colleges and further education settings referenced in the school’s careers information).

Year 7 admissions operate through East Sussex County Council’s coordinated process, with Seahaven working within the local authority timetable. For the September 2026 intake, the local authority’s published dates include applications opening on 12 September 2025 and closing on 31 October 2025, with offers on 2 March 2026.

The school’s published admission number for Year 7 (2026-27) is 180.

If applications exceed places, the oversubscription criteria prioritise, in order, pupils with an education, health and care plan naming the school, looked-after and previously looked-after children, children with specific medical or social needs supported by professional evidence, siblings within the defined community area, children of staff (in specified circumstances), other children in the community area, feeder school pupils living outside the community area (with named feeder primaries), then other categories including siblings outside the community area, with distance as the main tie-break using straight-line measurement.

Families considering a move should use FindMySchoolMap Search to check their home-to-school distance precisely, but also remember that allocation is criteria-driven and can change annually with the applicant pool.

Open events for Year 6 families have previously been scheduled in September, which fits the wider East Sussex secondary admissions season. For exact dates in a given year, the safest approach is to check the school’s published events information during the autumn term.

Pastoral support is presented as a genuine operational strength. The school’s stated approach focuses on helping pupils feel safe and well cared for, while also maintaining high expectations. Relationships are described as respectful, with systems to address bullying and unkindness, and targeted support for pupils who need additional help managing behaviour and emotions.

Attendance is an active priority area. External review material indicates leaders follow up attendance concerns rigorously and work with families and external services to reduce barriers, with improving attendance and reduced persistent absence over time, even if overall attendance remains below national levels. For families, that combination usually signals two things: good systems, and a cohort challenge the school is still working through.

Co-curricular life is more specific than many schools manage to publish, which helps parents judge fit.

The club lists show a mix of academic catch-up, interest-led societies, and creative and sporting options. Examples include Eco-Club (linked to an outdoor garden area), STEM Club, Dungeons and Dragons Club, British Sign Language Club, a Murder Mystery Club hosted in the library, and structured support such as Maths Excellence Club (invite only) alongside Maths Keep Up.

Creative provision is visible in both the timetable and enrichment design. Music and drama run across multiple days, with lunchtime options (such as Musical Lunch) and after-school rehearsals (including Shakespeare Schools Festival preparation). Visual arts enrichment is split into art, photography and 3D design, and there are GCSE catch-up sessions for older year groups, which suggests the school treats creative subjects as both enrichment and examinable disciplines.

There are also two dedicated Values Days each year, where normal lessons pause and pupils take part in workshops, guest speakers, and team challenges linked to the core values. For some children, this kind of programmed enrichment is where confidence grows fastest because it gives them structured chances to lead, collaborate, and try unfamiliar activities without the pressure of grades.

This is a state school with no tuition fees.

Families should still budget for the normal extras associated with secondary education, most commonly uniform, optional trips, and any paid enrichment such as instrumental tuition where applicable.

The school day is clearly published. The site is open to students from 8.00am to 4.00pm, with the formal timetable running from roll call at 8.30am through to the end of Period 5 at 3.00pm, and a lunchtime slot from 1.30pm to 2.00pm.

As an 11 to 16 school, there is no sixth form to factor into travel planning after Year 11. Term dates are published with mid-year structure, which helps families plan around INSET days and phased starts for year groups at the beginning of the academic year.

• No sixth form. Pupils move on at 16, so families should engage early with post-16 options and open events, especially if a particular pathway matters (A-levels, college, apprenticeships).

• Progress measures are slightly below average. A Progress 8 score of -0.23 points to outcomes that are a little behind similar pupils nationally; families may want to ask how the school is addressing gaps, especially for pupils who have fallen behind earlier.

• Attendance remains a development priority. Systems are in place and improving, but overall attendance is described as still below national levels; parents who value strong routines should ask how the school and home work together on punctuality and attendance habits.

• Support adaptations are not yet consistently refined in every subject. The direction is clear, but families of pupils with specific barriers to learning should probe how needs are translated into day-to-day classroom adaptations across departments.

Seahaven Academy offers a coherent, values-led secondary experience with a clear emphasis on belonging, calm culture, and structured learning routines. Outcomes sit around the middle of England’s distribution on the measures provided here, with EBacc performance and Progress 8 representing the main improvement opportunities. Best suited to families seeking a non-selective 11 to 16 school with explicit character education, a published enrichment offer, and a strong transition focus into Year 7 and beyond.