It might not feel so when we have challenges like fighting to keep our birthing centre and Govt plans to house hundreds of asylum seekers at our army camp, but looking back on 2025, there is much to celebrate and be proud of in Crowborough.
Crowborough News decided the best way to look ahead to 2026 was to reflect on the very many positives we can draw from 2025. It was not all petitions, planning and pothole doom and gloom – not by a long, long way.
We’ve only been in print since August but we have been active informing, updating, and celebrating our Crowborough community on social media since the spring. And the number of heart-warming stories of success, community action, and tales of inspiration have been many.
Remember some of these…
Let’s start with some (apologies to anyone we inadvertently miss out) of the Crowborough individuals who have done or achieved remarkable things in 2025. Fourteen-year-old Gaby Lear from Vision Taekwondo in the town centre became not only European Champion but then World Champion. And Matt Weston is aiming for GB Olympic Gold in February having become World Champion in the skeleton.
And let’s not forget former Beacon Academy student, James Cooper, who raised tens of thousands of pounds running 366 marathons – one every day – in 2024. Cancer patient Dave Pettit amazed us in 2025 finishing the Great North Run despite his chemo treatment, and similarly cancer patient Bryanna Ryder raised thousands swimming 21 miles for charity. And it was a good year for Crowborough’s Para Lion, Jake Heasman, who made the final of the World Cup with the England partially-sighted team in Turkey.
Dancer Max McIlvenny won a prestigious national award from the Royal Academy of Dance, while Hamish Wilson vowed to rebuild his life after having all four limbs amputated because of sepsis – and he did, walking back into university in September like he said he would.
And then there’s, Mabel, who we featured, in our October edition. If you’re looking for an inspirational young person in Crowborough, you need look no further. At the age of seven Mabel was diagnosed with leukaemia. She ultimately won her two and a half battle against the disease and now she and her mum have produced some feel good cards to help other people manage their mental health when dealing with adversity.
Beacon swimmer Bertie became English Schools 200m butterfly champion in 2025, while Beacon lifesavers played a key role in helping England to Commonwealth medals, and Duke of Edinburgh Awards star, Cerys Martin was chosen to be one of only 31 UK Ambassadors for the awards scheme. Jarvis Brook community volunteer, Bev Pashley, was recognised for her tireless work with a community award. Friends Wendy Burns and Alison Green raised more than £4,000 with a mammoth trek through northern Spain for Crowborough’s Good Company People charity.
As for our community and voluntary groups, there was also much to applaud. Family2Family scooped a hugely prestigious King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2025 – the highest accolade a charity can achieve, Crowborough’s Community Pantry won a community award, and our Repair Café celebrated its third birthday having repaired and saved hundreds of household items.
Behind the scenes Crowborough has scores of volunteers working hard for our community and the people in it. Crowborough Bonfire and Carnival Society raised more than £4,000 at the amazing 2025 event, and the Friends of Crowborough Hospital once again organised a hugely successful Hospital Fete which raised around £15,000.
It’s also important to highlight individuals who have launched ambitious schemes in 2025 to improve or protect important facilities in our community. Well done to Gaynor Kendall who has begun a fund-raising campaign to raise at least £30,000 for urgent repairs to Jarvis Brook Memorial Hall, and also to Bev Pashley (mentioned above) who is spearheading plans to double the size of the Jarvis Brook skatepark, and also an ambitious scheme to develop a new youth and arts centre. And thank you to David Collumbell and all the volunteers at Brighter Crowborough who once again in 2025 were out and about every weekend collecting litter, pulling weeds, cleaning signs and making our community look better.
And in 2025 we’ve also been pleased to report the on-going success and vision of all those involved in the work to create a new Crowborough Community Hub in the disused part of the railway station.
2025 was also another busy year of community events which, as always attracted huge crowds. Well done to Crowborough Town Council for organising the Boundary Walk, the summer fair, another spectacular fireworks display, Remembrance events, and most recently, the Christmas Cracker event.
Incidentally, while councils sometimes take flak (and not always fairly), it is worth acknowledging some of the other positive things Crowborough Town Council has done for the community in 2025. We have a new burial ground at Summersales, the Silver Jubilee Play Area is getting a £55,000 makeover, and the town council is also consulting on plans for a major redevelopment of the pavilion and sports facilities at the Wolfe Recreation Ground.
We also have a wealth of sport clubs of whom we should be proud from 2025. Crowborough Tennis and Squash Club was named Sussex Club of the Year by the Lawn Tennis Association and runner up for the whole of the country. Meanwhile Beacon Golf Club was ranked one of the best 100 golf courses in England.
As well as Gaby Lear’s success, Vision Taekwondo provided an astonishing eight members of the England team taking part in the World Taekwondo Championships in Croatia – many of whom came home with individual medals. Jumping Juniors was named sports club of the year for the south east, and Crowborough Hockey Club was honoured to be highly commended as “Emerging Club of the Year” at the England Hockey Awards.
On the footie pitch, both Crowborough Athletic FC and Jarvis Brook FC had their most successful seasons ever. The Brook won their league cup and secured promotion to the Southern Combination Division One – the highest level the club has ever played at. And with that came ground developments including floodlights and a new spectator stand. The Crows, meanwhile, were also cup winners and also clinched promotion to The Isthmian South East Division – again the highest level the club has played at.
Crowborough Rugby Football Club remained hugely popular and in 2025 was recognised nationally for its work encouraging girls and women into the game. The club’s under 11s were invited to Twickenham to join England for their pre-match preparations against Australia, and CRFC’s Woman’s Team wrote a bit of club history with their first ever competitive match.
Beacon Academy celebrated its 70th birthday in 2025 and remains, based on GCSE results, one of the best performing schools not only in Sussex but in the country – being one of only two schools in East Sussex to be rated in the Govt’s “well above average category”.
We’ve also been pleased to report that both Jarvis Brook School and St John’s Primary School have been rated “good” by Ofsted during 2025. And there is hugely positive news at the newly named Acre Wood Academy, formerly Grove Park School, which has just begun a massive £17million redevelopment scheme.
Any review of 2025 has to applaud Laura Verbeek who has rejuvenated our monthly farmers’ market which is out-growing its location and now attracts large numbers of shoppers, and also Carson’s Tea House which, even though it only opened in 2024, was named best in Sussex in 2025.
Another jewel in Crowborough’s crown is the U3A which provides activities, social and interest groups for people no longer in employment. During 2025 this organisation continued to grow and is now one of the busiest in the country. It now has more than 700 members and 85 different groups covering a huge range of different topics and interests.
These are just some of the positives we have reported on in 2025 – there will be many other people and successes that we have missed (apologies). Of course 2025 has brought its bad news and challenges too – and no doubt 2026 will do the same. But amidst all the national and global news doom and gloom, we mustn’t lose sight of what a great place Crowborough is, and how many wonderful people live here.
We hope this round-up of success has given you as much hope and optimism reading it as it has given us. Here’s to another good year in 2026!