Hastings A School was completed in 1953, where it opened as a girlssecondary school. At around this time the school campus was made up of B-Block and the sports fields.
With the merger of the boys secondary school located in Priory Road with Hastings Grammar School in 1978, (next to Castledown School), Hillcrest accepted both male and female students. Arthur Trevor Kimber who had been head at Hastings Secondary School for Boys became the new head teacher of Hillcrest and many of his staff team from the boys' school transferred across with him.
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
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.
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 language.. 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 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]