Maidstone’s state schools outscore 81% of towns in England
At Maidstone’s secondaries, 54% of pupils reach grade 5 in both English and maths, above both Kent’s towns (36%) and towns in England (45%). 41 state-funded schools are located in Maidstone’s built-up area. Maidstone grades A− for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #16 of 87 in Kent. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Maidstone’s secondary results beat 78% of English towns; its primary results beat 75%. 66% of the city’s 11-year-olds meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England and 62% across Kent. The spread between primaries is wide: 90% at Leigh Academy Oaks, 43% at Barming Primary School. Every school’s result ↓
Popular schools are full
18 of 37 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as their official capacity, including Invicta Grammar, Maidstone Grammar, Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Oakwood Park Grammar, St Simon Stock and Valley Park among the secondaries. A full school gives places by its admissions rules, usually by distance after siblings. Getting a place ↓
Grammar schools in town
Invicta Grammar School, Maidstone Grammar School, Maidstone Grammar School for Girls and Oakwood Park Grammar School admit pupils by a test at 11. Their results count in Maidstone’s School Grade, as they are state schools many local children attend. After 16 ↓
Leigh Academy Oaks beats its intake
Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually get lower results. At Leigh Academy Oaks, 39% of pupils are on free school meals and 90% meet the expected standard; a typical school in England with that intake reaches 58%. Results and intake ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Maidstone grades A− for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (66% meet the standard)Better than 75% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (50.8 and 54%)Better than 78% of towns in England
Each of Maidstone’s 24 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Maidstone’s 10 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolKent’s average school
The primary figure: 25 primaries in the town, 4,055 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 10 secondaries in the town, 1,896 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Map
Where Maidstone’s 41 state schools are
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Maidstone’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondarySpecial, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 6% at Maidstone, St John's Church of England Primary School to 60% at The Holy Family Catholic Primary School. Against schools with the same intake, Leigh Academy Oaks does best: 90% with 39% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 58%. 16 of 23 primaries and 4 of 10 secondaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Maidstone
Kent County Council handles applications for every state school in Maidstone, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.
When a school is full
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 8 of Maidstone’s 37 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 18 schools are at or over it.
Valley Park134%
Invicta Grammar127%
Greenfields incl. nursery123%
Barming incl. nursery114%
Allington111%
Leigh Academy Tree Tops incl. nursery108%
Leigh Academy Langley Park incl. nursery107%
Oakwood Park Grammar106%
Archbishop Courtenay incl. nursery104%
Maidstone, St John's104%
Show all 36 schools
Maidstone Grammar104%
Loose incl. nursery101%
Maidstone Grammar School for Girls101%
Maidstone, St Michael's101%
St Simon Stock101%
Sandling100%
Brunswick House100%
Senacre Wood100%
Palace Wood99%
West Borough incl. nursery99%
Leigh Academy Oaks incl. nursery99%
Leigh Academy Molehill incl. nursery99%
St Michael's98%
Valley Invicta School At East Borough98%
Park Way97%
North Borough Junior97%
The Maplesden Noakes95%
South Borough incl. nursery93%
Tiger93%
Leigh Academy Bearsted incl. nursery92%
Jubilee incl. nursery92%
The Holy Family92%
St Augustine90%
St Paul's Infant90%
School of Science and Technology Maidstone88%
New Line Learning79%
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
The schools
41 state schools in Maidstone
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Letters of Maidstone’s schoolsA14B9C8D46 without a letter
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Ofsted
Ofsted report cards
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Outstanding 8Good 7Report card 5Ungraded inspection only 21
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 5 of Maidstone’s 41 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
Run by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
Leigh Academies TrustLeigh Academy Langley Park, Leigh Academy Bearsted, Leigh Academy Snowfields, Leigh Academy Tree Tops, Leigh Academy Molehill, Leigh Academy Oaks
6
2,079
B+A−A−A−A+
Valley Invicta Academies TrustInvicta Grammar, Valley Park, School of Science and Technology Maidstone, Valley Invicta School At East Borough
4
4,726
A+C−BA−
Kent Catholic Schools' PartnershipSt Simon Stock, The Holy Family, St Francis'
3
1,341
C−A−C+
Future Schools TrustNew Line Learning, Tiger
2
1,218
D−C−
Orchard Academy TrustBarming, Allington
2
946
DA+
Maplesden Noakes SchoolThe Maplesden Noakes
1
1,418
D−
Oakwood Park Grammar SchoolOakwood Park Grammar
1
1,100
A+
Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (Ksent)Five Acre Wood
1
871
—
Woodard Academies TrustSt Augustine
1
673
D
Coppice Primary PartnershipLoose
1
662
B
Swale Academies TrustSouth Borough
1
448
A+
St John's Church of England Primary School MaidstoneMaidstone, St John's
1
437
A
Jubilee Primary SchoolJubilee
1
386
A
Diocese of Canterbury Academies TrustArchbishop Courtenay
1
329
B
Kent County CouncilMaidstone Grammar, Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, West Borough, Greenfields, Sandling, Brunswick House, Palace Wood, North Borough Junior, Park Way, Bower Grove, St Paul's Infant, Senacre Wood, Maidstone, St Michael's, St Michael's, Maidstone and Malling Alternative Provision
15
6,515
A+ACB−B+C+BCC+B−B−
After 16
Where Maidstone’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
8 of Maidstone’s 10 state secondaries have sixth forms: Invicta Grammar, Maidstone Grammar, Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Oakwood Park Grammar, School of Science and Technology Maidstone, St Simon Stock, The Maplesden Noakes and Valley Park. The nearest college is MidKent College, a further-education college 8.7 miles away.
Secondaries with a sixth form
8 of 10
state schools in Maidstone
Colleges within 12 miles
1
nearest: MidKent College
Grammar schools in Kent
32
selective state secondaries
Special needs
Special schools and alternative provision in Maidstone
Maidstone has 3 special schools (Bower Grove, Five Acre Wood and Leigh Academy Snowfields: 1,472 pupils) and 1 alternative provision school, for pupils who can’t attend mainstream school for a time. A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Kent County Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Kent County Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
7th of 62 English towns and cities of 77,000 to 148,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Maidstone, and the top and bottom of the group.
Wateringbury 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.6 mi
A
70%
—
Burham 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.6 mi
C−
61%
39.7
Sutton Valence 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.8 mi
C+
60%
—
Wateringbury has the best-graded schools nearby (A). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
•
Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Maidstone: 12% (England’s average school: 8%).
•
Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
•
Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
•
Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
•
Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
•
Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
•
Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.
Questions about schools in Maidstone
Are schools in Maidstone good?
Maidstone’s state schools earn an A− against schools across England: primary results beat 75% of towns in England; secondary results beat 78% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Kent council.
What is the best secondary school in Maidstone?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, Invicta Grammar School: Attainment 8 of 70.8 and 93% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Maidstone?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Leigh Academy Oaks: 90% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Maidstone secondary schools have sixth forms?
8 of 10 do.
How do I apply for a school place in Maidstone?
Through Kent County Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
How many schools in Maidstone are full?
18 of 36 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
How many state schools are in Maidstone?
41 open state-funded schools are located in Maidstone’s built-up area: 27 primary, 10 secondary and 4 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
