About the Area Bexhill-on-Sea Lifestyle Schools Shopping Travel Entertainment Education Sport
By Dr-Mx - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61810613
Attributation: By Dr-Mx - Own work, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

An Introduction to Bexhill-on-sea

Bexhill on Sea is a safe residential seaside town between Hastings and Eastbourne, and retains much of the character that made it so popular for the Victorian and Edwardian aristocracy, including the large Victorian blocks along the promenade, such as Glyne Hall and Carlton Court which has been featured on a number of period dramas. With four miles of unspoilt beaches and promenade, and the iconic 1935 Grade I listed De La Warr Pavilion, and in the midst of the historic 1066 country, it offers an unusually rare and quiet charm not often found along the South Coast.

Bexhill is a thriving seaside resort with a wide variety of restaurants and bars, providing excellent transport to London, Brighton, Ashford International, Eastbourne, Hastings and surrounding areas. It is an ideal place for families, with a good choice of schools, numerous churches and societies, two golf courses, indoor and outdoor bowls, and numerous other sporting facilities. It also boasts an elegant two mile promenade with colonnade cafes overlooking the sea, where deck chairs and beach huts can be hired. There are many independent shops, cafes and restaurants in the town as well as larger shops at the Ravenside Retail Park.

Schools

Bexhill-on-Sea benefits from a diverse variety of both primary and secondary schools along with a very popular sixth-form college.  With 4 institutions rated as “Oustanding” and a further 6 rated as “Good”[1] according to Ofsted inspection ratings.

Little Common School

At Little Common  we are a large, dynamic school and attract pupils from across the Bexhill and St Leonards area. We are proud of our good reputation and able pupils do particularly well in our school (as shown in our ‘greater depth’ scores in our Key Stage 2 SATs results).

We have an exciting, broad curriculum, which offers pupils meaningful learning based on first-hand experience. Children here enjoy experiences such as cookery lessons and science fairs, and every child learns to play both the recorder and the ukulele.

We have been awarded the School Games Gold Mark recognising our commitment to the development of PE, sport and competition across the school. We have also received the Gold Artsmark award to celebrate the cultural and creative skills the children demonstrate in art, music and across our curriculum.

We are so lucky to be located close to many wonderful landmarks and we make the most of these. Pupils visit Cooden Beach to learn about the coastline and caring for the environment, they perform on stage at the De La Warr Pavilion and White Rock Theatre and they learn about history in our local museum or while standing on the site of the Battle of Hastings.[sic]Linda Appleby, Executive Headteacher[3] 

Little Common School

St Peter and St Paul CofE Primary School

St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary School is a larger-than-average-sized primary school. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority) is slightly above the national average.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below the national average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below the national average, but is growing. Pupils in the Reception classes attend full time.

The school meets the government’s floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. The headteacher provides advice to other local primary schools about the effective spending of the pupil premium.[4] 

St Peter & St Paul CofE Primary School

St Richard’s Catholic College

St Richard’s Catholic College is a specialist college in science with mathematics and information communication technology (ICT). It is a very settled, over- subscribed school which benefits from strong parental support.

The vast majority of students are Roman Catholics. Most are from White British backgrounds and very few have English as an additional language. Some of the parishes served by the college are in areas which suffer from high levels of disadvantage. However, in comparison to the national context, most students’ economic circumstances can be described as broadly average.

The proportion of students entitled to free school meals is below average, as is the percentage with learning difficulties or disabilities. Key for inspection grades Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Satisfactory Grade 4 Inadequate[5] 

St Richard's Catholic College

Glyne Gap School

Glyne Gap School is a special academy for pupils with severe or profound learning difficulties. The school converted to become a stand-alone academy in April 2013. When its predecessor school, which had the same name, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding overall.

The academy has three sites. The main site caters for pupils from Year R to Year 11. Children in Reception attend full time. Children of pre-school age attend the Early Years Nursery, run by Bexhill College, part time.

The provision is shared with some children who go on to attend the neighbouring Pebsham Academy. Sixth form students are based in a faculty at Bexhill College. All pupils from Reception through to the sixth form are supported by a statement of special educational needs or education, health and care plan.

The majority of pupils are of White British heritage and a much smaller proportion speak English as an additional language. There are approximately twice as many boys as girls. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils who qualify for free school meals or are in the care of the local authority) is above average and represents nearly half of the total cohort.

The headteacher took up her post in September 2013 after previously being assistant headteacher with responsibility for the sixth form.[2]

Glyne Gap School

Entertainment

Bexhill-on-Sea has a wealth or pub, bars, restuarants and things to see and do. A highlight being the very popular De La Warr Pavilion.

De La Warr Pavilion

Conceived as a democratic space for art, culture and recreation, and as a hub for the wider community, the building’s design is unique, purposeful and progressive, embracing the international style while remaining quintessentially British.

Named after the 9th Earl De La Warr, who was the driving force in its creation, the De La Warr Pavilion was designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff and opened in 1935. Today it continues to be home to an ever-changing programme of established and emerging artists.[7]

De La Warr Pavilion

Bexhill Museum

Bexhill Museum opened in 1914 with one gallery, and has grown its collection to match its style ever since. After 2003 the Egerton Road building incorporated the Bexhill Old Town Costume Museum for a rebuild that established the unique mix of the modern and Edwardian that it is today. Its four galleries and unique artefacts are maintained by Bexhill Museum Ltd, a UK registered charity (no. 1102638).

The primary purpose of Bexhill Museum is to collect, conserve, display and interpret objects and information related to the history and natural environment of our surrounding area. This work is undertaken for the benefit of the public and, in particular, the residents of Bexhill and district, local schools & colleges and visitors to the 1066 Country area.

Bexhill Museum is an independent Arts Council accredited museum. It is directed by a four-member management team appointed by the charity’s board of Trustees, and is operated daily almost entirely by volunteers. The appointments of new Trustees are approved by majority vote by the membership at their annual general meeting.

Our emphasis is on education through displays and exhibitions in the gallery and by outreach work in the community. Julian Porter MA, who is employed by Rother District Council as District Curator for Rother’s Museum Service, is attached to Bexhill Museum as its curator and provides expert advice and guidance on all aspects of the collection’s history, documentation, care & display[8]

Bexhill Museum

Bexhill Beach

The traditional south coast seaside resort of Bexhill is maybe not in its prime these days but it is still a good spot for a family day at the beach.

Those of you familiar with the beaches of Sussex will not be surprised to read the beach is mainly shingle held in place by a series of wooden groynes. At low tide a good expanse of fairly hard sand is exposed though.

Swimming is generally safe at Bexhill and there are now RNLI lifeguards on duty during the summer with flagged areas for bathing.

Bexhill’s seaside pedigree is clear with a good long section of promenade not to mention some very nice beach huts.[9]

Bexhill Beach

Explore

There is so much more to explore in find out about his wonderful seaside town, here are some of best resources for the area:

Sources & Attributations

[1]Source[https://www.locrating.com/the-best-schools-in-Bexhill%20On%20Sea_East%20Sussex_England.aspx]28/08/21; [2]Source[https://www.locrating.com/schools-Glyne-Gap-School-0urn139521.aspx]28/08/21; [3]Source[https://www.littlecommon.e-sussex.sch.uk/welcome/]28/08/21; [4]Source[https://stpeterandstpaulprimary.co.uk/esussex/primary/stpeterstpaul]28/08/21; /em[5]Source[https://www.locrating.com/schools-St-Richard%E2%80%99s-Catholic-College-0urn114612.aspx]28/08/21; [6]Source[Alan Stanton, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons]28/08/21; [7]Source[https://www.dlwp.com/about-us/]28/08/21; </em[8]Source[https://www.bexhillmuseum.org.uk/about/]28/08/21; >[9]Source[https://www.thebeachguide.co.uk/south-east-england/east-sussex/bexhill.htm]28/08/21; >

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