Uckfield College
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Secondary
Post 16
PUPILS
1583
AGES
11 - 18
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Community school
SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
unlock
UNLOCK

Can I Get My Child Into This School?

Enter a postcode to see where you live on the map
heatmap example
Sample Map Only
Very Likely
Likely
Less Likely

This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
0300 330 9472

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Good
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(04/10/2022)
Full Report - All Reports
71%
NATIONAL AVG. 38%
5+ GCSEs grade 9-4 (standard pass or above) including English and maths



Unlock The Rest Of The Data Now
We've Helped 20 Million Parents
  • See All Official School Data
  • View Catchment Area Maps
  • Access 2024 League Tables
  • Read Real Parent Reviews
  • Unlock 2024 Star Ratings
  • Easily Choose Your #1 School
£19.95
Per month

Progress Compared With All Other Schools

UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 15% of schools in England) Below Average (About 18% of schools in England) Average (About 35% of schools in England) Above Average (About 16% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 16% of schools in England)

School Results Over Time

2019 2022 2023 2020 Covid-19 2021 Covid-19 UNLOCK

% of pupils who achieved 5+ GCSEs grade 9-4
2019 2022 2023 2020 Covid-19 2021 Covid-19 UNLOCK

% of pupils who achieved GCSE grade 5 or above in both English and maths
2019 2022 2023 2020 Covid-19 2021 Covid-19 UNLOCK

% of pupils who achieved 3 A levels at AAB or higher
`
Downsview Crescent
Uckfield
TN22 3DJ
01825764844

School Description

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have worked closely with the governors to recruit a strong team of leaders who have reinvigorated your drive for further improvement. You are determined that all pupils should be challenged to do as well as they possibly can. Your motto ‘realising potential’ puts a strong focus on ensuring that pupils have many opportunities available to them, both academically and through extra-curricular provision. The leadership team has improved many of the school’s systems and procedures over the last two years and they are now fully embedded. For example, arrangements for issuing sanctions and rewards are understood by all, and the achievement points awarded for good effort and behaviour are popular with pupils. Pupils are friendly and polite and there is a harmonious atmosphere in the school. Pupils are typically very well behaved. One parent who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, summed up the ethos of the school as: ‘encouraging the young people to love learning, be interested in the world around them, take care of it and take care of one another’. You have successfully addressed the areas for improvement identified in the last inspection. Teachers make better use of assessment information to plan work that meets the needs of all pupils, including those who need extra support. As a result, the majority of pupils make good progress. Pupils appreciate the guidance their teachers give them and they say that they know very specifically how to improve their skills and knowledge. However, you have identified that some of your subject leaders need to make better use of assessment information so that they can better hold teachers to account for their pupils’ progress. Teachers make good use of the technology available which gives them access to the lesson resources and homework tasks. Pupils say that homework tasks extend their current learning and provide additional challenge. Through good use of technology, parents can also now be more closely involved in homework. You have created a focused plan to raise the achievement of boys, middle priorattaining pupils and disadvantaged pupils. The leadership team has developed a wide range of effective approaches to monitoring pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. Consequently, leaders and governors have a strong understanding of the strengths of the school and also where further improvement is required. You have worked with a group of local schools to carry out a review of the science department and have already acted on the recommendations made. Leaders recognise that they need to do more to improve attendance, especially for disadvantaged pupils. You were able to show some case studies for pupils who had been persistently absent for different reasons and evidence was seen of some improvements. Pastoral leaders now have a more rigorous approach in place which ensures greater consistency across all year groups. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders and governors give safeguarding the highest priority. The necessary checks are completed rigorously and records are well maintained. Policies and practice reflect the most up-to-date guidance on keeping children safe. Annual training is undertaken by all staff and regular updates are given when appropriate. This ensures that all staff are alert to any new issues which may arise. Pupils feel safe at school. They are confident that they can trust adults around them and will seek advice if needed. Safeguarding is interwoven into pupils’ personal development time with tutors and in assemblies. The personal, social and health education programme is adapted in response to any new issues emerging. Pupils feel particularly well trained in how to stay safe online. Parents comment positively that their children are safe and well cared for at school. Inspection findings During the inspection, inspectors focused on the following lines of enquiry: how effectively leaders are using extra funding to ensure that disadvantaged pupils are making good progress; how well teaching and assessment meets the needs of all learners and particularly middle prior-attaining pupils; how effectively leaders are improving attendance and reducing persistent absence; and how well the curriculum meets the needs of all pupils, including in the sixth form. Leaders have used catch-up funding to good effect, with eligible pupils making strong progress in English and mathematics in Year 7. Leaders set ambitious targets for each year group. Subject leaders ensure that the pupils targeted for intervention are a priority and that disadvantaged pupils know what they have to do to improve their work further. This has had a particularly strong impact for current pupils in Year 9. However, leaders know that they still need to work with subject leaders to ensure that all disadvantaged pupils achieve in line with other pupils nationally with similar starting points. Teachers have worked collaboratively to produce new schemes of learning to increase the level of challenge for pupils and ensure a consistent approach to feedback. This is having a positive impact on the progress of middle-attaining pupils. Parents appreciate how well their children’s needs are met in lessons. One parent who responded to the online questionnaire said, ‘I am impressed with the passion of the teachers for their subjects and that all the teachers seem to personally know my children’. Teachers have extended the use of digital resources so that homework is better integrated into pupils’ learning. Pupils feel that their teachers listen to them in lessons and that they are well challenged. Senior leaders and governors are tackling lower-than-national-average attendance with increased urgency. Leaders have tightened up procedures so that pastoral leaders have a consistent approach to working with parents. Pastoral leaders have set up small intervention groups in order to better focus their efforts and this has already shown improvements for the pupils involved. Year 9 pupils said that the rewards points system for regular attendance is very motivating, especially as parents now have easy access to that information. Leaders have acted on evidence from the behaviour review to improve behaviour generally and raise expectations of the standard required. There has been a sustained reduction in fixed-term exclusions over the last two years. Sixth-form attendance is good overall. Leaders accept that there is still further improvement needed to ensure that attendance continues to rapidly improve to reach above national averages for all, including disadvantaged pupils. As part of personal development time, tutors give guidance to all key stage 3 pupils about subjects they wish to study for GCSE. Pupils feel very well supported and are happy with their choices. The careers adviser works full time on the school site, giving easy access to a wide range of resources. School leaders pride themselves on the broad range of subjects available both in key stage 4 and in the sixth form. Pupils really enjoy some of the more unusual choices available to them. School leaders have given more time to the options subjects this year to ensure better progress for all. There is new leadership of the sixth form. You have seized the opportunity to refresh and update the curriculum offer. You are increasing cooperation with other local providers in order to maintain and extend the curriculum to match your students’ needs. This includes offering more vocational courses. Students said that the extra-curricular provision has expanded and offers a variety of experiences. Governors know the school well and have adapted their working practices to include more regular opportunities to track the progress of all groups across all years. They have a wealth and breadth of experience and expertise which enable them to hold leaders to account effectively. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: attendance continues to improve for all pupils and specifically for disadvantaged pupils so that it matches or exceeds national averages subject leaders sharpen the use of performance information to hold teachers to account for the progress of pupils, in particular those who are disadvantaged. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for East Sussex. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Beverley Murtagh Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection Inspectors met with you, your leadership team, and middle leaders. I also met with members of the governing body and I had a phone call with the local authority school improvement representative. Inspectors met formally with groups of pupils from Years 9, 10 and the sixth form. Together with members of your leadership team, we looked at lessons in a variety of subjects across different year groups. A wide range of documents was scrutinised, including your analyses of pupils’ achievement, attendance information, and a range of policies, including those for safeguarding. We checked that the single central record complied with requirements. We analysed the 281 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, the 95 responses to the staff survey, and the 617 responses to the pupil survey.

Uckfield College Parent Reviews



Average Parent Rating

unlock

“Lack of care”

unlock
"> No care for pupils mental health in my experience. My son has suffered with mental health issues and missed a lot of his last two years of school. Finally we got him through this and managed to enrol him again. We started to settle him back in again so he could catch up only to be told two days into the new year that the course he wanted was not open to him and and he would have to leave. This had a knock back effect on his health, which we will have to deal with as a family with no help from the school who caused it. So, in summary, if your child has issues, steer clear of this college.
unlock % Parents Recommend This School
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>42, "agree"=>37, "disagree"=>10, "strongly_disagree"=>10, "dont_know"=>2} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>40, "agree"=>42, "disagree"=>9, "strongly_disagree"=>8, "dont_know"=>2} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>39, "agree"=>40, "disagree"=>14, "strongly_disagree"=>4, "dont_know"=>4} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
My Child Has Not Been Bullied Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"my_child_has_not_been_bullied"=>57, "strongly_agree"=>7, "agree"=>13, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>9, "dont_know"=>7} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>34, "agree"=>44, "disagree"=>15, "strongly_disagree"=>4, "dont_know"=>3} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
I Have Not Raised Any Concerns Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"i_have_not_raised_any_concerns"=>21, "strongly_agree"=>28, "agree"=>23, "disagree"=>13, "strongly_disagree"=>13, "dont_know"=>3} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>18, "agree"=>19, "disagree"=>21, "strongly_disagree"=>36, "dont_know"=>6} UNLOCK Figures based on 85 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>57, "agree"=>32, "disagree"=>3, "strongly_disagree"=>5, "dont_know"=>3} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>44, "agree"=>36, "disagree"=>9, "strongly_disagree"=>7, "dont_know"=>4} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>38, "agree"=>41, "disagree"=>12, "strongly_disagree"=>6, "dont_know"=>3} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>55, "agree"=>38, "disagree"=>4, "strongly_disagree"=>1, "dont_know"=>3} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>59, "agree"=>35, "disagree"=>3, "strongly_disagree"=>1, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>35, "agree"=>38, "disagree"=>13, "strongly_disagree"=>9, "dont_know"=>6} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023
Yes No {"yes"=>78, "no"=>22} UNLOCK Figures based on 389 responses up to 17-01-2023

Responses taken from Ofsted Parent View

Your rating:
Review guidelines
  • Do explain who you are and your relationship to the school e.g. ‘I am a parent…’
  • Do back up your opinion with examples or clear reasons but, remember, it’s your opinion not fact.
  • Don’t use bad or aggressive language.
  • Don't go in to detail about specific staff or pupils. Individual complaints should be directed to the school.
  • Do go to the relevant authority is you have concerns about a serious issue such as bullying, drug abuse or bad management.
Read the full review guidelines and where to find help if you have serious concerns about a school.
We respect your privacy and never share your email address with the reviewed school or any third parties. Please see our T&Cs and Privacy Policy for details of how we treat registered emails with TLC.


News, Photos and Open Days from Uckfield College

This school is busy uploading photos, news and event information.
Check back soon!