Hastings Academy

The Hastings Academy, formerly known as Hillcrest, is a secondary school in Hastings, East Sussex, England. The Hastings Academy opened on 1 September 2011 moving into a new building during February 2013.The school has around 900 students and over 100 staff. The Principal is Ms Hilary Morawska. It is run by the University of Brighton Academies Trust.

Hastings Academy
Address
Rye Road Ore, Hastings , East Sussex , TN35 5DN England
Coordinates	50°52′47″N 0°36′55″E
Information
Established	1952
Local authority	East Sussex
Department for Education URN	136401 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Ms Hilary Morawska
Staff	100+
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 16
Enrolment	860
Houses	East Hill, Silverhilll, West Hill, Firehills
Colour(s)	House colours: East Hill is Yellow, Silverhill is Green, West Hill are Orange and Firehills is Red
Website	http://www.thehastingsacademy.org/

History

Hastings A School was completed in 1953, where it opened as a girls secondary school. At around this time the school campus was made up of B-Block and the sports fields. With the closure of the boys school in Priory Road in the late seventies, (next to Castledown School), Hillcrest accepted both male and female students.

In 2007 the school closed its 6th Form.

On 21 November 2008 The Hastings Observer reported that "The worst school in Hastings has been dealt a further blow after being told it will be put into special measures by Ofsted".

In 2011 the school was closed down by Ofsted and knocked down by East Sussex County Council.

September 2013 saw the closing of Hillcrest School and the opening of The Hastings Academy.

The Old Hillcrest Campus

Former school buildings

The school campus was divided into four blocks: L block, the Sports Centre, A Block and B Block. In addition to the Sports Centre, there is a gymnasium in B Block. There were three tennis courts on site and four playgrounds. There were two fields east of the Language Block. The school owned part of the woodland behind A Block's playground. A multi use games area was opened in 2006.

A Block

• Humanities: Geography, History and religious education
• Science
• Drama
• Administration
• Caretakers' office

There were huts behind A Block where maths is taught and student services, the health clinic, library and canteen were located there.

B Block

• English and media
• Maths
• Art
• IT
• PE (gym)
• Music
• Design technology
• Student Services
• SENCO Department (also, Remedial Block, also J Block)
• Food Technology

The main entrance was there and leads to Kenway Hall.

C Block (also, L Block)

The language college was where French, German and Spanish was taught to the students; Japanese. Other languages were taught during after school classes. There was an ICT suite, primarily for the use by Language classes.

Hastings Federation

In 2008, a proposal to create a federation between Filsham Valley, Hillcrest and The Grove secondary schools to improve major aspects of the school was approved by East Sussex County Council.[1]

Under the federation, led by Sir Dexter Hutt, the school has improved in all areas including attitude towards learning, behaviour both in and out of the classroom, OFSTED inspections[2] and GCSE results[3] with 76% of students achieving 5 A* – C, and at least 93% 5A* – G grades.

The federation continues today in the form of the University of Brighton Academies Trust which includes Hastings Academy and The St Leonards Academy (the result of a merger between Filsham Valley and The Grove).[4]

The Hastings Academy opened on 1 September 2011 and an extensive building programme saw the old buildings occupied during the development and construction of the new buildings. The old school was demolished and the current buildings have been used since February 2013.

Toilet pass controversy

Hastings Academy has a policy of issuing toilet passes to avoid the abuse of toilet breaks during lesson time. In September 2018 an 11-year-old girl, who was experiencing her first menstrual bleed was not allowed to use the toilet and sent home with bloody knickers, tights and shorts. The school wanted a doctor's certificate, at a cost of £15, before they would issue a toilet pass.[5]

In the year 2019, various groups of students 'swarmed' aspects of the school with desperate attempts at gaining their freedom back. These swarms continued across 2 days, and it was reported that weapons, including rods and knives, were brought in by students. The police were within the school building on both days. The school denied any and all of these accusations, although children told parents anyway. Across the two days, the hill of east was vandalized by students, as well as powder bombs being dropped into the canteens, temporarily blinding numerous students. Results of these activities saw that all WIFI was now removed from student use.

Frequently, the school experiences 'black-outs' were the lights, and all power, was lost for minutes at a time. These events continued into a year 11 business GCSE exam, where the select students had already received grief from the examiners phones going off.

References

1. "Hastings federation of Filsham Valley, Hillcrest and The Grove schools".
2. "Good Progress overall". Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
3. "GCSE Results Summer 09". Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
4. "Hastings and St Leonards Academies - H.A.S.L.A". www.hasla.org.uk.
5. "Mum's fury as school 'refuses to let pupil use toilet during her period'".