The school is regularly over subscribed, with 1000 students on roll. School buses provide transport for over 250 students from the Stone Cross, Pevensey, Westham and Langney areas of Eastbourne. We take students from approximately 15 different primary and private schools from across the area, with the majority coming from Willingdon, Polegate, Stone Cross, Pevensey & Westham and Hankham primary schools. We have a particularly close working relationship with Polegate and Willingdon primary schools, with whom we have formed a collaborative partnership aimed at developing the quality of transition to secondary school. Initiatives developed through this collaboration also benefit students joining us from other schools.

We are one of seven secondary schools and a large FE College (Sussex Downs College), which work very closely together on a range of initiatives. Working collaboratively, the schools and college have developed a number of flexible curriculum offers, strategies to support the development of good behaviour, improved transition to college at 16, staff development programmes and a range of other joint activities.

Willingdon has taken a prominent role in leading on many of these, to the benefit of all schools locally. As a recently designated Teaching School, working together with local schools is very much at the heart of our work, impacting on the quality of our provision but also providing a range of development opportunities for new and experienced teachers.