Orchards Academy[1]

Secondary · ages 11–18

Headline results

Attainment 8: A8 38 38.3 2025/26[2]

Results

GCSE (key stage 4)

Attainment 8: 38.3 2025/26[2]
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 27.4% 2025/26[2]
Grade 7+ in English & maths: 0.9% 2025/26[2]
Progress 8: +0.03 2023/24[3]
Progress 8, 2025/26: Not calculated[4]
Progress 8, 2024/25: Not calculated[4]

Earlier years
Year	Attainment 8	Grade 5+ in English & maths	Progress 8
2024/25	41.3[5]	33%[5]
2023/24	40.9[3]	28.3%[3]	+0.03[3]
2022/23	41.4[6]	32%[6]	-0.08[6]
2021/22	40.6[7]	35%[7]	-0.69[7]

Destinations after GCSEs

Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment: 86% 2022/23[8]
School sixth form: 8% 2022/23[8]
Sixth-form college: 2% 2022/23[8]
Further education college: 61% 2022/23[8]
Apprenticeship: 5% 2022/23[8]
Employment: 9% 2022/23[8]

Earlier leavers
Left in	Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment	School sixth form	Sixth-form college	Further education college	Apprenticeship	Employment
2021/22	89%[9]	12%[9]	6%[9]	59%[9]	1%[9]	11%[9]
2020/21	92%[10]	12%[10]	6%[10]	53%[10]	9%[10]	11%[10]
2019/20	94%[11]	23%[11]	1%[11]	56%[11]	6%[11]	7%[11]
2018/19	90%[12]	14%[12]	1%[12]	60%[12]	7%[12]	6%[12]

Destinations after 16–18 study

Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment: 100% 2016/17[13]
Education: 77% 2016/17[13]
Apprenticeship: 0% 2016/17[13]
Employment: 23% 2016/17[13]

Earlier leavers
Left in	Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment	Education	Apprenticeship	Employment
2015/16	73%[14]	27%[14]		45%[14]
2013/14	67%[15]	27%[15]		40%[15]

Higher education after 16–18 study

Progressed to higher education: 18% 2015/16[16]
Top third of most selective universities: 0% 2015/16[16]
Russell Group universities: 0% 2015/16[16]
Oxford or Cambridge: 0% 2015/16[16]

Shares of the pupils who left in the year shown. Russell Group and Oxford or Cambridge figures were published for leavers up to 2019/20 only.

Ofsted

Latest inspection: 11 Mar 2025[17]
Type: S5 Inspection[17]
Report published: 28 Apr 2025[17]
Personal development: Good[17]
Quality of education: Good[17]
Behaviour and attitudes: Good[17]
Safeguarding is effective?: Yes[17]
Effectiveness of leadership and management: Good[17]

Earlier inspections
Inspection	Type	Overall
1 Jul 2021[18]	Section 8 inspection of good and outstanding schools[18]	No overall grade[18]
Date not published[19]	Maintained Academy and School Short inspection[19]	No overall grade[19]

Competition to get in

Applications and offers, Year 7

Applications per place: 1.3 Entry Sept 2026[20]
Applications (any preference): 186 Entry Sept 2026[20]
First preferences: 95 Entry Sept 2026[20]
Places offered: 139 Entry Sept 2026[20]
First preferences per place: 0.7 Entry Sept 2026[20]

Earlier years
Entry	Applications	First preferences	Places offered	Per place	First preferences per place
Entry Sept 2025	169[20]	100[20]	109[20]	1.6[20]	0.9[20]
Entry Sept 2024	168[20]	86[20]	112[20]	1.5[20]	0.8[20]
Entry Sept 2023	181[20]	95[20]	145[20]	1.2[20]	0.7[20]
Entry Sept 2022	156[20]	84[20]	113[20]	1.4[20]	0.7[20]

Character & practicalities

Type: Academy converter[1]
Ages: 11–18[1]
Boys / girls: Mixed[1]
Admissions: Non-selective[1]
Sixth form: No[1]
Boarding: No boarders[1]
Capacity: 828[1]
Trust: THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST[1]
Local authority: Kent[1]
Website: http://www.orchards-tkat.org [1]
District: Sevenoaks [21]
Postcode: BR8 7TE[1]
URN: 136304[1]

School details as recorded in Get Information About Schools on 14 Oct 2026.

Pupils

Number on roll: 545 2024/25[22]
English as an additional language: 8.4% 2024/25[22]
SEN support: 16% 2024/25[22]
EHC plan: 3.3% 2024/25[22]
Free school meals in the last 6 years: 44.8% 2024/25[22]

Pupils' ethnicity 2025/26

White: 84.8%[23]
Mixed: 5.2%[23]
Asian: 1.1%[23]
Black: 6.1%[23]
Any other ethnic group: 1.6%[23]
Unclassified: 1.1%[23]

The school census's major ethnic groups as shares of the school's pupils, summed by us from the published counts. For information only: never used to rank, filter or colour schools.

Sources

Department for Education: Get Information About Schools: all establishments. Period 2026-10-14, published 2026-10-14. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Performance tables schools data (explore education statistics). Period 2025/26, provisional, published 2026-10-15. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2023/24, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Key stage 4 performance 2024/25: data guidance. Period 2024/25. Archived copy; original. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Quote
It is not possible to calculate Progress 8 for academic years 2024/25 and 2025/26 due to gaps in the baseline caused by COVID-19 disruption.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2020/21, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2019/20, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2018/19, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 destinations. Period 2016/17, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 destinations. Period 2015/16, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 destinations. Period 2013/14, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 progression to higher education. Period 2015/16, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2024/25. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2020/21. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2015/16. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Primary and secondary school applications and offers: school level. Period Entry Sept 2026, final, published 2026-06-29. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Office for National Statistics: Parish to Ward to Local Authority District (May 2026) Lookup in EW. Period 2026-05-01. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: School census. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Schools, pupils and their characteristics: school level underlying data. Period 2025/26, published 2026-06-04. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.