Leigh Academy Wilmington
Common Lane, Wilmington, DA2 7DR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LEIGH ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Michael Gore
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Leigh Academies Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Dartford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,400
- Pupils on roll
- 1,386
- URN
- 136205
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01322272111
About this school
Leigh Academy Wilmington is a secondary academy in Wilmington. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,386 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Leigh Academy Wilmington, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 232 | 230 | 228 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.0 | 45.8 | 45.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.11 -0.08 to +0.29 | +0.23 +0.05 to +0.42 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 43.5% | 45.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 65.7% | 67.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 21% | 85.2% | 83.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
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 Leigh Academy Wilmington 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 | 44 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.8 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.4 | 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 | 8.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,388 |
| 2023/24 | 1,374 |
| 2024/25 | 1,381 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Leigh Academy Wilmington compares
Leigh Academy Wilmington ranked 41st of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.4 | 8% | 22.7% | 1,386 | — |
| Wilmington Grammar School for Boys | 64.6 | 5.4% | 11.3% | 1,174 | 0.1 miles |
| Wilmington Grammar School for Girls | 66.7 | 4.8% | 7.4% | 1,154 | 0.2 miles |
| Dartford Science & Technology College | 49.1 | 8.4% | 22.3% | 857 | 1.1 miles |
| Dartford Grammar School for Girls | 75.5 | 4.6% | 23.3% | 1,257 | 1.2 miles |
| Dartford Grammar School | 79.9 | 4.3% | 8.8% | 1,576 | 1.3 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.
Inspection history
- 4 May 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report25 February 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 22.73%
- English as an additional language
- 7.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.98%
- Persistent absence
- 23.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wilmington Grammar School for Boys0.1 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Wilmington Grammar School for Girls0.2 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Dartford Science & Technology College1.1 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Dartford Grammar School for Girls1.2 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Dartford Grammar School1.3 miles
Secondary · Dartford
Common questions
- What ages does Leigh Academy Wilmington teach?
- Leigh Academy Wilmington teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Wilmington.
- Who is the principal of Leigh Academy Wilmington?
- The principal of Leigh Academy Wilmington is Mr Michael Gore, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Leigh Academy Wilmington been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Leigh Academy Wilmington, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Leigh Academy Wilmington?
- Leigh Academy Wilmington has 1,386 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Leigh Academy Wilmington full?
- Leigh Academy Wilmington has capacity for 1,400 pupils and 1,386 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Leigh Academy Wilmington a faith school?
- No. Leigh Academy Wilmington has no designated religious character.
- Is Leigh Academy Wilmington a selective school?
- No. Leigh Academy Wilmington is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Leigh Academy Wilmington part of an academy trust?
- Leigh Academy Wilmington is part of LEIGH ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Leigh Academy Wilmington have?
- The schools register lists Leigh Academy Wilmington's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Leigh Academy Wilmington's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44 in 2022/23 and 45.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Leigh Academy Wilmington compare with other schools in Kent?
- Leigh Academy Wilmington ranked 41st of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Leigh Academy Wilmington's absence rate?
- Leigh Academy Wilmington's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Leigh Academy Wilmington's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Leigh Academy Wilmington'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 1 July 2026.