Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #58 in Kent public Top 35% UK

Orchards Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Andy Lazenby

corporate_fareTHE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST

location_onSwanley, BR8 7TE

language Visit Website phone 1322665231

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

585

trending_up

Attainment 8

41.3

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GCSE Rank

#52 in Kent

#2,360 of 3,216 nationally

summarize

Orchards Academy is a Academy converter secondary school in Swanley, serving ages 11-18. Rated Good by Ofsted.

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School Summary

Orchards Academy is an academy converter in Swanley, Kent, admitting pupils aged 11-18. It is part of THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST. The school has approximately 545 pupils on roll, of whom 45% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 41.3, placing the school #52 in Kent and #2,360 of 3,216 nationally. 33.00% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths. 9.2% of all GCSE entries were graded 9–7.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.8× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 17.9:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 9.9 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

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Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2025

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

41.3

Grade 5+ E&M

33.00%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)9.2%

Entering EBacc0.00%

EBacc APS3.29

2024

Progress 8 Score

0.03

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

40.9

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0.90%

EBacc APS3.23

2023

Progress 8 Score

-0.08

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

41.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc7%

EBacc APS3.37

2022

Progress 8 Score

-0.69

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

40.6

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc12%

EBacc APS3.39

2021

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc16%

EBacc APS-

2019

Progress 8 Score

-0.09

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

39.7

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc38%

EBacc APS3.42

2018

Progress 8 Score

-0.24

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

37.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc33%

EBacc APS3.18

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

86%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)71%

Apprenticeships5%

Employment9%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)9%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

89%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)78%

Apprenticeships1%

Employment11%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)9%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

92%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)72%

Apprenticeships9%

Employment11%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)8%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

94%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)81%

Apprenticeships6%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)4%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

90%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)77%

Apprenticeships7%

Employment6%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)9%

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

11 March 2025

Inspection Report

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01 July 2021

Inspection Report

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12 July 2016

Inspection Report

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14 February 2012

Inspection Report

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08 February 2012

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2025-03-11

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2016-07-12

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2012-02-08

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2008-12-03

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

10.6%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

7.0%(38 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

1pupils

gavel Exclusion recorded

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 545 pupils. During this period, there were 58 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 10.6%, which is above the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	545	58	10.6%	7.3%	1
2024/25 (Autumn term)	558	51	9.1%	7.8%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	540	33	6.1%	7.4%	1
2023/24 (Spring term)	551	22	4.0%	7.1%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	567	37	6.5%	8.2%	2
2022/23 (Summer term)	574	21	3.7%	6.6%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	585	12	2.1%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	594	8	1.3%	5.9%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	569	3	0.5%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	575	2	0.3%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	575	8	1.4%	4.4%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	545	6	1.1%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	549	0	0.0%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	541	3	0.6%	3.9%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	542	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	542	5	0.9%	3.2%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	544	5	0.9%	4.2%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	524	5	1.0%	3.1%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	525	3	0.6%	3.8%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	529	4	0.8%	3.8%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	517	3	0.6%	3.4%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	531	6	1.1%	3.0%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	538	5	0.9%	3.7%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	523	3	0.6%	3.0%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	517	12	2.3%	3.3%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	524	12	2.3%	3.1%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 44 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 38 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 12 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 10 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils