Last Update: December 2020

You will find an initial article on 2020 allocations here, an article on 2020 oversubscription data for grammar schools here, and for non-selective schools here. For Grammar School Preferences, only grammar qualified are counted. The PAN is the Published Admission Number and refers to the number of places available in the year group for each school. If additional places were offered, I have recorded this under PAN.  

A Report on 2020 Appeals Outcomes here. GCSE and A-Level results for 2020 are not being published because of the nature of the assessments. For Attainment 8 and Progress 8 and further information on the performance of all Kent schools with 2019 GCSE scores go to here for explanation. 

In the Individual performance table, under the A Level Progress heading for 2019, you will find a set of data like this: -0.37(BA,104,D+, 60). This tells you that the school has a Progress performance level at A Level of -0,37, which is Below Average, 104 students took at least one A Level with an average Grade of D+, with 60 students taking three A Levels. A gap between the number of students taking one and those taking three A Levels can be indicative of the number of vocational courses being offered. 

Inspiration Academy at Leigh UTC. Th'is was a new school which opened in  September 2017, for details follow the link. It is on path to merge with the unpopular  Leigh UTC on its way, the website currently stating:  This is the very first school to work alongside a University Technical College with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at its heart'. In contrast to the UTC it initially proved very popular in its new premises helped, along with all other Dartford NS schools by the extreme unpopularity of Ebbsfleet Academy, which has now improved under new leadership.  Numbers have dipped after allocation partly because of this and the new Stone Lodge School in Dartford and the school accepted Local Authority Alllocations for the first time in 2020.

 No appeals 2017 or 2020.  

No Ofsted Inspection yet

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 The leap in  numbers from allocation to enrolment in September is caused by the high number of successful appeals.  

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Isle of Sheppey Academy Now Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey.

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John Wallis Church of England Academy Ashford. The new Academy opened in September 2010 moving into a new £8.6 million premises in September 2014. It is now an all age academy, from 3-19. The sponsors are: The Diocese of Canterbury, Benenden School, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent County Council. The headteacher was John McParland, previously head of the successful St Simon Stock RC School in Maidstone who retired in August 2020,  as one of the highest-paid headteachers in the county. .  KCC described the proposal for the all aged Academy as "a systemic response to the historic repeated failing of education provision in south Ashford was planned ".  OFSTED January 2014: Good. At that time I wrote an interesting article entitled: 'Is this the best performing school in Kent: John Wallis CofE Academy, Ashford?'  Initially found it difficult to attract students due to poor reputation of predecessor schools. However, popularity has steadily climbed ever since and it is now the non-selective school of choice in Ashford, heavily oversubscribed in 2020. 2018 highest Progress 8 score of any Kent non-selective school, but slipped considerably for 2019. Has a surprisingly low staying on rate into the Sixth Form.    

 For 2020, all appeals heard will have been 'Paper-Based'.

 No appeals heard 2014-2019

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The Judd School The most selective school in Kent selecting on the aggregate score in the Kent tests for all pupils. Since 2016 entry, its oversubscription criteria cover two different areas, currently with 157 highest scoring boys being admitted from an Inner area, and 23 from elsewhere. Placing Judd in the search engine for this website will produce numerous articles relating to admissions and appeals. The school has now increased its intake to 180 following a capital buildings grant from KCC to ease pressure on West Kent grammar school places. This will have been in return for the school agreeing to the priority for local boys.

For 2020, the Year 12 intake was 230, with 90% of the 152 Year 11 boys staying on (third-highest rate in the county behind Skinners and Simon Langton Boys), and 93 boys and girls from other schools taking up places. The largest group were the 19 girls from Tonbridge Grammar, along with nine from Weald and five from TWGGS. There were 29 students from N/S schools showing that Judd is not as socially exclusive as some other schools including five from Claverham College, balanced by 24 from private schools, including six from St Leanard's Mayfield and five from Sevenoaks School. 

 At the second round of Allocations for 2020, 12 inner places re-allocated, six outer. 

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Knole Academy, Sevenoaks, opened in September 2010 combining the old Bradbourne and Wildernesse Schools. Instead of a complete new build as was originally planned, "The final decision made, having considered all the complexities, is to build a large extension on the space where the back car park is at Knole West (formerly The Bradbourne School) with the school's own sports hall, bigger and more acoustically friendly performance hall, and many other exciting learning spaces, which we hope will also benefit the community of Sevenoaks.  The advantage to this scheme means that we can retain the ex Bradbourne buildings, which are in good condition and have excellent facilities, including the £2 million extension opened in 2004 and paid for by Kent County Council.  Although a slightly smaller site than the ex Wildernesse site, the main advantages are that the existing buildings are in a good state of repair, the highway access is good and we will continue to make use of the extension which cost £2 million in 2004. Sponsors include KCC and Sevenoaks private school. Early publicity for the proposed Academy suggested it is also expected to cater for children of grammar school ability, who currently have no selective school in Sevenoaks, and the school has since made much of ever this. The previous head recently featured in the media and this website as the highest paid head in the County. Entering Knole in the search engine for this website will produce several articles on education provision in Sevenoaks.  OFSTED November 2015: Requires Improvement a shock to the school community, down from Good in 2012, but back to Good in 2017. The new headteacher appointed Christmas 2019 appears to have reversed the downward trend as shown by the sharp increases in unsuccessful first choices, and appeals.  For 2020 there were 52 out of county children offered places, 50 of them from Bromley. Has a Year 12 of 80 students, nearly 90% of whom are from within the school. 

Trinity Free School, also in Sevenoaks, opened in 2013, subsequently provided strong competition, although the gloss appears to be coming off it. 

 A sharp fall in popularity, probably both from successful grammar school appeals and the recovery of Orchards Academy in Swanley, appears to have been reversed.  

When oversubscribed, siblings take priority, then the school admits pupils across the ability range only from its catchment area, split into inner and outer areas, in the proportions 70/30. All applicants are tested for ability, then divided into five ability bands. Pupils are selected randomly from each band in the required proportions. Vacancies are made up from the waiting list.

Has a strong Year 12 of 111 students in 2020,  with 43 from other schools including six from Dartford Grammar. 

There are in any case few successful appeals, for it is very difficult to make a case against random selection. Appeals are organised by a commercial company, that appears to be very supportive of the school.  

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Leigh University Technical College

Admits pupils at Year 10, and in spite of its title takes all pupils without selection by aptitude. Struggles to attract pupils, which have to be prised out of other schools at Year 10, easier in the case of Ebbsfleet Academy. It now admits pupils in Year Seven via the separately titled Inspiration Academy, although the title changes in some contexts to Inspiration Academy @ Leigh UTC. This is presumably an attempt to boost the numbers at the UTC. 

Technical schools 'half full and perform less well'

 There have been no appeals, 

* A note in the table states: Progress 8 score for The Leigh UTC (2018): Some schools start educating pupils partway through the 5-year period covered by Progress 8, which should be taken into account when comparing their results with schools that start at Key Stage 3. Progress 8 is not the most appropriate performance measure for university technical colleges, studio schools and some further education colleges. These establishments typically start educating pupils at age 14, with a focus on preparing pupils for their future careers by providing an integrated academic and professional education. Other headline measures, particularly pupil destinations, are more important for these establishments. The Leigh UTC's confidence interval is -1.25 to -0.4 

The Ofsted inspection was carried out in a half empty school, so difficult to see how this was arrived at. A visitor to the school later that year was shocked by the large number of teachers to small number of pupils ratio. One wonders what Ofsted will make of this level of GCSE performance next time round. 

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The Lenham School:  Previously the failed Swadelands School, now an academy sponsored by Valley Invicta Academy Trust since April 2018. Appears to have been transformed according to Performance and First Preferences.  Special Measures Ofsted under KCC control, is discounted according to the rules of academisation.  

 No appeals up to 2019. For 2019 and 2020 this will have been because of the high number of pupils taken out in Maidstone by grammar school appeals.  

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Longfield Academy OFSTED April  2018. Good again. Premises are a complete new build at an original cost of some £25 million. This completely replaced the previous 1960s buildings which were in an appalling condition. As I wrote some years ago: "Indeed it is apparent that the main reason for forming an Academy here is to secure new premises – the school is rural, not failing and in a good socio economic area – meeting none of the normal conditions for an old style Academy".  

Popularity has declined in recent years as nearby Meopham School, once a school to avoid, has become very successful and popular. Had a Year 12 of 73 students in 2020, mostly from within the school, five coming from Ebbsfleet Academy. 

Uses a commercial company for appeals that appeared to deliver the schools needs.