Last reviewed: September 2026 · Rankings and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Six months old as a school, yet already home to 1,345 students. Mulberry Academy St Leonards opened on 1 March 2026 as a Fresh Start academy in Mulberry Schools Trust, on the Edinburgh Campus site in St Leonards-on-Sea. It is a mixed, non-selective 11 to 16 comprehensive with capacity for 1,500 students and no sixth form.
Principal Jon Francies leads the new school, and his welcome sets out a deliberately plain ambition: "Our vision is for every child to be happy." The values are Kindness, Opportunity and Excellence. The school has not yet been inspected by Ofsted since it opened on 1 March 2026, so it has no Ofsted grade of its own.
What families can weigh now is a large local comprehensive with a specialist SEND facility, The Cove, a year-by-year careers programme, named mental health partners and generous outdoor sports space. What they cannot yet weigh is a track record, because the new school has not had time to build one.
Kindness, Opportunity and Excellence sit alongside two lines on the Principal's welcome page: Outstanding Achievement for All, and Every Student supported to belong, grow and succeed. Those words become practical through student roles. Kindness Ambassadors exist to promote kindness and positive behaviour, which gives the first value a named job in a school of more than 1,300 teenagers, where tone is set as much by peers as by staff.
Since March 2026, the school has been a member of Mulberry Schools Trust. The Principal describes it as having opened as a new school in March 2026 and credits work with the new trust for its momentum. Parents should read this as the early phase of a turnaround: a Fresh Start is a deliberate reset, with a new establishment, new governance and new expectations, rather than a simple change of name.
Local governance reflects that brief. The Chair of the local governing body, Andy Davy, has 40 years of experience of change management in retail and shopping centres. Co-opted governors include Charles McGeachie, a retired headteacher who worked in all phases of state schools, and George McWilliams, an associate lecturer at the University of Coventry supporting senior leaders in education. A governing body mixing change management with school leadership experience suits a school being rebuilt.
Student voice has a formal shape. Each tutor group elects a Tutor Captain to sit on the Student Parliament, and three Head Students cover Curriculum, Pastoral and Community, supported by four Deputy Head Students. For a new school trying to build loyalty quickly, giving students named responsibility is a sensible early move.
The uniform signals the new identity: a purple polo shirt with the academy logo or a white buttoned-down collared shirt with the logo, a compulsory academy blazer, and plain black trousers or a black pleated skirt. Students are expected on site by 8:30am.
A caveat first, because it frames everything below. The most recent published GCSE figures for this site date from before the school reopened in March 2026. They describe students taught under the predecessor school, not outcomes produced by the current leadership.
On those figures, the site ranks 2,680th of 3,895 in England for GCSE results, ranked against all schools in England with published GCSE results, state and independent. That places it below the middle of schools in England. This is a proprietary FindMySchool ranking built from official data.
The underlying measures explain the position. The average Attainment 8 score was 30.7, across a cohort of 280 students at the end of Year 11. Progress 8, where 0 represents the England average, stood at -1.22: students made well-below-average progress from their starting points at the end of primary school, by a wide margin. The average EBacc point score was 2.49.
These are weak numbers, and they help explain why a Fresh Start happened at all. The real question for a family choosing a Year 7 place for September 2027 is whether the new trust can shift them. There is no published evidence either way yet. The first summer of GCSE results under the Mulberry Academy St Leonards name will be the first meaningful test, so families applying now are backing the plan rather than the record.
England ranks and key metrics (where available)
GCSE
2680th
England rank
Ranking figures update automatically as our data refreshes and are the definitive source. Any rankings quoted in the review text were accurate when it was written and may since have changed.
Key Stage 4 is set out in hours. GCSE English Language and English Literature, GCSE Mathematics and GCSE Combined Science each receive 4.5 hours per week. Protecting that much time for the core is the right priority for a school whose recent Progress 8 score sits well below zero, since English and maths carry double weight in the measure.
The first option block is an EBacc choice of GCSE Geography, GCSE History, GCSE French or GCSE Spanish, at 3 hours per week. That steers students towards a humanity or a language. Further option subjects include GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition, GCSE Music, GCSE Photography, GCSE Physical Education, GCSE Religious Studies, GCSE Sociology and GCSE Triple Science, alongside Tech Award Dance, Tech Award Digital ICT and OCR Sports Science. Triple Science gives stronger scientists a route beyond Combined Science, while Tech Award Dance and Tech Award Digital ICT suit students who learn best through applied, project-based work.
Every student also has one hour per week of non-examined Physical Education, and personal development runs through the timetable.
The day runs in long blocks. Lesson 1 runs from 9am to 10:40am, Lesson 2 from 11:10am to 12:50pm and Lesson 3 from 1:20pm to 3pm. Three 100-minute lessons allow extended practice and fewer movements between rooms, which can help keep corridors calm in a large school. They also demand sustained concentration, which some younger students will find hard at first.
For students with additional needs, the academy follows the graduated response set out in the SEN code of practice, adding levels of intervention as needs become clearer. Teaching assistants trained to deliver interventions receive additional training in Zones of Regulation, Sensory Circuits, dyslexia and reading support, and speech and language support.
With no sixth form, every student leaves at 16. Guidance in Years 10 and 11 therefore matters more here than in an 11 to 18 school.
The careers programme is one of the most fully described parts of the school's offer. In Year 7, students take part in RAF STEM days, alumni presentations and careers workshops. Year 8 adds labour market talks, Sussex University Day and Discovery Day for Work. In Year 9, around options time, students attend Compact Plus university visits and the STEM Big Bang event. Year 10 brings a careers fair, work experience, local college taster days and university visits. In Year 11, each student has an individual careers guidance meeting with a Level 6 trained advisor to create a tailored action plan, supported by assemblies from post-16 providers and the Embrace the Challenge event.
Careers Corner is the dedicated space for this work, designed to empower students to take an active role in shaping their own future. The school evaluates its provision against the Gatsby Benchmarks and is working towards the Investor in Careers Mark. A named room gives careers a permanent presence rather than leaving it to occasional assemblies.
Post-16 providers linked from the careers page include Ark Alexandra Sixth Form, Bexhill College, Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College (BHASVIC), East Sussex College Group, Heathfield College, Plumpton College and Seaford Head School Sixth Form Centre. Leaver destination percentages are not published, so families cannot yet judge how successfully students secure their chosen routes.
Competition for places is real, even with weak recent results. For 2025 entry, 425 applications were made for 282 offers, roughly 1.5 applications per place, and the school was oversubscribed. That demand partly reflects its size and its role as a major local comprehensive for St Leonards-on-Sea.
Admission is non-selective, and most students join at the start of Year 7. Year 7 applications go to East Sussex County Council on its Common Application Form, not to the academy. For September 2027 entry, applications opened in September 2026 and the closing date is 31 October 2026.
Students with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the academy are admitted first. After that, when there are more applicants than places, priority runs in this order: looked-after and previously looked-after children, children of staff (under specified conditions), children with a brother or sister at the academy at the time of admission, and then distance, with priority to those who live closest. The local authority measures distance on the trust's behalf. The trust decided there will not be a specific catchment area for the academy, reflecting new housing developments since the previous catchment areas were drawn up. Families should read the full policy for the detail of each criterion.
Open events are the best way to test the new school's culture directly. The Open Evening runs on Tuesday 6 October 2026, from 4pm to 7pm, with the chance to meet Principal Jon Francies and his team. Open Mornings run every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9am to 10:30am for five weeks from 14 September.
For incoming students, the Year 6 Transition pages recognise that the move from primary to secondary is a significant milestone for both students and parents. That matters in a school this size, where the jump from a primary class to a roll of more than 1,300 is considerable.
Places in The Cove work differently: every student in the facility must have a statement of special educational needs or an EHCP. Families considering it should talk to the SEND team early.
Previous Year (2024/25 Entry)
Applications
425
Total received
Places Offered
282
Subscription Rate
1.5x
Applications per place
Pastoral support is organised by year group. Each year group has a head of year and student welfare officers, both non-teaching staff roles, and the published team lists a Student Wellbeing and Welfare Officer for individual year groups alongside Student Wellbeing Assistants. Each student has a tutor they meet at the start of the school day, whose role is to build strong, trusting relationships. Daily contact means a change in mood or attendance should be spotted quickly.
Mental health support draws on named partners. Action Your Potential provides one-to-one coaching and resources through the #NeuroNinja Learning Hub, aimed at wellbeing, anxiety, motivation and memory. Believe In You offers early intervention mental health support through workshops and 1-2-1 work. Place2Talk, run by the school counsellor from Place2Be, is a self-referral service offering one-off or short interventions for students who feel they need a little more support. The Nurture approach helps students engage with missing early nurturing experiences, building the social and emotional skills to do well at school and with peers.
The Cove is the specialist facility for students with physical disabilities and for students who need additional support in relation to a diagnosis of ASD. Clare Howard-Le Vierge is the Special Educational Needs Coordinator. A resourced base inside a mainstream school gives students specialist support while keeping them part of wider school life.
Peer support adds another layer. Better Reading Partners pairs Year 10 students with Year 7 students to support their reading, giving younger students an older peer they know by name.
Sport. The site has generous outdoor and indoor space. Facilities listed by the local authority include a new 3G pitch, grass pitches, hard courts, a sports hall and a climbing wall. The 3G surface keeps outdoor games playable through wet winters, and a climbing wall offers something for students who do not see themselves as team players. A PE and Enrichment Timetable sets out clubs, and after-school activities finish by 4:15pm. Named teams and fixtures are not published.
Drama and the arts. A Drama Studio and a Main Hall support performance, and Tech Award Dance and GCSE Music give creative students examined routes. In 2024 an inclusive arts initiative, The Cove: Calm waters, was set up on the site with Hastings Contemporary, a partnership between specialist SEND provision and a local gallery. The Year 7 Pantomime Trip gives new students an early theatre outing.
Outdoor learning and the environment. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is offered at Bronze and Silver: a 6 to 8 month journey for Bronze and 12 months for Silver. The student Green Team supports environmental initiatives, and in 2024 the site launched The Future Growth Project, a sustainable food production project described as setting a model for schools. Together they give students who care about the outdoors several ways in.
Trips. The published trips list is broader than many families might expect. KS3 Disneyland Paris is for Year 7 and Year 8, and the list also includes a KS4 Ski Trip, a Poland Trip exploring cultural history and a Lille Christmas Markets trip. For some local families, a school trip abroad may be a child's first, which gives these value well beyond the itinerary.
Reading and leadership. Student Librarians help manage the library and promote reading. Given the low starting points reflected in recent results, reading schemes run by students themselves address a real need.
Students arrive by 8:30am, registration runs from 8:40am to 9am and the day ends at 3pm. Break is from 10:40am to 11:10am and lunch from 12:50pm to 1:20pm. Breakfast club begins at 8am, and after-school activities finish by 4:15pm. Term 1 of 2026/27 began on 2 September 2026 and runs to 23 October 2026.
Accent has been the school caterer from September 2026. All menus are fully allergen checked and labelled, and catering teams are trained each term. The school does not publish transport routes or bus information, so families should check local bus services and East Sussex County Council's home-to-school transport guidance.
No track record for the new school. Mulberry Academy St Leonards opened in March 2026, has not yet been inspected and has published no GCSE results under its own name. Families are choosing on leadership, trust and plans rather than evidence of outcomes.
Recent results on this site are weak. The latest published GCSE figures, from before the Fresh Start, show Attainment 8 of 30.7 and Progress 8 of -1.22. Ask directly how the school is raising progress in English and maths, and what early assessment shows.
A large school with no sixth form. With 1,345 students on roll against a capacity of 1,500, this is a big school, and everyone moves on at 16. Students who thrive in smaller settings may need time to settle, and families should plan for a college or sixth form application in Year 11.
Practical gaps to fill. Bus routes are for families to check with the council, and the closing date for September 2027 entry is 31 October 2026. Visit an open event soon and ask for anything missing in writing.
Mulberry Academy St Leonards is a school at the start of a reset. The recent GCSE record on this site is weak, and there is no Ofsted judgement yet for the new school. Against that, the signs of intent are concrete: protected time for English, maths and science, a specialist SEND facility in The Cove, a new 3G pitch and climbing wall, a detailed careers programme ending with a Level 6 trained advisor meeting every Year 11 student, and named wellbeing partners including Place2Talk.
It is best suited to local families in St Leonards-on-Sea who want a large, inclusive comprehensive close to home, value strong SEND and wellbeing support, and are comfortable backing a new trust's improvement plan before results arrive. Families who need a proven academic record now should compare carefully, and revisit the question once the first results under the new school are published.
It is too early to judge on evidence. The school opened in March 2026 as a Fresh Start academy, has not yet been inspected and has no results under its own name. The latest GCSE figures from the site, which predate the new school, were weak, with Progress 8 of -1.22. Strengths on paper include The Cove specialist SEND facility, a structured careers programme and named wellbeing partners.
Yes. For 2025 entry, 425 applications were made for 282 offers, around 1.5 applications per place. After students whose EHCP names the academy, priority goes to looked-after and previously looked-after children, children of staff, siblings, and then those living closest.
The latest published figures date from before the school reopened and reflect the predecessor school's students. They show Attainment 8 of 30.7 and Progress 8 of -1.22, placing the site 2,680th of 3,895 in England for GCSE results. The first results under the new school are still to come.
Every student meets their tutor at the start of each day, and year groups have a head of year and student welfare officers. Kindness Ambassadors promote kindness and positive behaviour, and students can self-refer to Place2Talk for short-term emotional support. Families should ask to see the anti-bullying policy at an open event.
The trust decided there will not be a specific catchment area. After the higher-priority groups, places go to children who live closest, with distance measured by East Sussex County Council. Apply through the council's Common Application Form by 31 October 2026 for September 2027 entry.
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