Rye College

Academy converter·Secondary school Rye, East Sussex·TN31 7NQ
Composite score
46.0
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#2,867
National rank
#423
In South East
#22
In East Sussex
Top 90%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
36.8
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
35%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
52%
% EBacc grade 5+
3%
EBacc average points score
3.13

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
114 first choices, 125 places
First choices per place
0.91
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
223
any preference, for 125 places
Applications from another council area
10%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.01
00.511.5
1 per place
0.8220220.7620230.7620240.9220250.912026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put Rye College first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
616
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
36.4%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
4.2%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
21.8%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
0.8%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
13.1%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
43.9%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.0
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,864
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
83%
116 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
78%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
3%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Rye College

Rye College is a secondary school in Rye, East Sussex, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. Around 616 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 36.8 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 0.5 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

35% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 52% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Rye College their first choice was offered one of its 125 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 83% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 13.1%. There are about 17.0 pupils per teacher. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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