ethos
Head Mr Lawson believes 'good learning soothes and enthuses, and promotes children's happiness, resilience, sophistication and integrity.' He scrapped the rule banning pupils from the pier and beach; new pupils now eat fish and chips on the beach at sunset as an induction activity. A £40 million development for a music recording studio, sports hall and classrooms marked the school's 150th anniversary. He has launched a Blue Skies Bursary Campaign to maintain cultural mix of the pupil body and is implementing a mobile phone-free policy for all pupils below sixth form.
teaching
Class sizes are no more than 15. Pupils are not streamed or pigeonholed when they join in Year 9, allowing flexibility. Saturday morning lessons have been replaced with an enrichment curriculum of study support and co-curricular opportunities. Pupils take between 9 and 14 GCSEs (up to 11 or 12 timetabled; additional GCSEs built around the timetable). Subject choice is wide — Eastbourne is the first school to announce the natural history GCSE, which it helped design. The 2024 cohort achieved a record number of 9s (over 200). Sixth formers take A-levels alongside '4th Stream', a programme including modern languages, first aid, professional finance services, Gold Arts Award, and a Leadership & …
pastoral
Just under half of ~600 pupils board; of 300 boarders, 200 are UK full boarders. Five boarding houses (three for boys, two for girls), all described as homely with TV snug rooms, plenty of bathrooms, and gardens with veg patches and barbecues. Housemistresses/masters, resident tutors and matrons are all on site. Friday is movie night; weekend activities include shopping in Eastbourne, paddleboarding and beach visits. House restaurant outings are common. Weekly boarders may go home after Saturday commitments and return Sunday evening or Monday morning.