The Malling School
Beech Road, East Malling, West Malling, ME19 6DH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- The Malling Holmesdale Federation
- Headteacher
- Mr John Vennart
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Maidstone and Malling
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,003
- Pupils on roll
- 1,051
- URN
- 118897
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01732840995
About this school
The Malling School is a foundation secondary school in West Malling. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,051 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 182 | 180 | 162 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.6 | 40.5 | 41.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.29 +0.08 to +0.49 | -0.21 -0.42 to 0.00 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 36% | 32.8% | 26.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 57.2% | 54.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 17% | 52.8% | 48.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Malling School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42.6 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.5 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,010 |
| 2023/24 | 1,054 |
| 2024/25 | 1,046 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Malling School compares
The Malling School ranked 55th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 41% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 14% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41 | 8.4% | 30.6% | 1,051 | — |
| Aylesford School | 37.6 | 6.7% | 25.4% | 916 | 1.5 miles |
| The Holmesdale School | 41.6 | 9% | 36.5% | 606 | 2.3 miles |
| St Simon Stock Catholic School | 46.6 | 8.6% | 16.5% | 1,148 | 3.0 miles |
| Oakwood Park Grammar School | 68.9 | 5% | 7.6% | 1,100 | 3.2 miles |
| St Augustine Academy | 35.1 | 9.1% | 34.2% | 673 | 3.2 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.59%
- English as an additional language
- 1.2%
- Overall absence
- 8.4%
- Persistent absence
- 26.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Aylesford School1.5 miles
Secondary · Aylesford
-
The Holmesdale School2.3 miles
Secondary · Snodland
-
St Simon Stock Catholic School3.0 miles
Secondary · Maidstone
-
Oakwood Park Grammar School3.2 miles
Secondary · Maidstone
-
St Augustine Academy3.2 miles
Secondary · Maidstone
Other schools in West Malling
- Kings Hill School Primary and Nursery Primary
- Leybourne, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- More Park Catholic Primary School Primary
- Offham Primary School Primary
- Ryarsh Primary School Primary
- The Discovery School Primary
- Trottiscliffe Church of England Primary School Primary
- Valley Invicta Primary School At Kings Hill Primary
- Valley Invicta Primary School At Leybourne Chase Primary
- West Malling Church of England Primary School and McGinty Speech and Language Srp Primary
- The Rosewood School Local authority maintained schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Malling School teach?
- The Malling School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in West Malling.
- Who is the headteacher of The Malling School?
- The headteacher of The Malling School is Mr John Vennart, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Malling School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Malling School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is The Malling School?
- The Malling School has 1,051 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Malling School full?
- The Malling School has capacity for 1,003 pupils and 1,051 on roll (105%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Malling School a faith school?
- No. The Malling School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Malling School a selective school?
- No. The Malling School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Malling School?
- The Malling School is part of The Malling Holmesdale Federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Malling School have?
- The schools register lists The Malling School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Malling School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.6 in 2022/23 and 41 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Malling School rank locally?
- The Malling School ranked 55th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 41% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 14% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Malling School's absence rate?
- The Malling School's overall absence rate is 8.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Malling School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Malling School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.