Darrick Wood School
Lovibonds Avenue, Orpington, BR6 8ER
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- IMPACT MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Head Teacher
- Dr Martin Airey
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Orpington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,825
- Pupils on roll
- 1,698
- URN
- 136355
- Local authority
- Bromley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01689850271
About this school
Darrick Wood School is a secondary academy in Orpington. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,698 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. 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- 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 | 254 | 254 | 260 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.7 | 50.3 | 51.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.19 -0.36 to -0.01 | 0.00 -0.18 to +0.17 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 49% | 55.9% | 56.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 78.7% | 79.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 70% | 75.6% | 74.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
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 Darrick Wood 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 | Bromley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48.7 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.3 | 39.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.5 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,713 |
| 2023/24 | 1,697 |
| 2024/25 | 1,687 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Darrick Wood School compares
Darrick Wood School ranked 9th of 19 secondary schools in Bromley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.5 | 6.6% | 15.1% | 1,698 | — |
| Newstead Wood School | 82.8 | 3.6% | 6.7% | 1,347 | 0.4 miles |
| Ravens Wood School | 48.1 | 6.4% | 12.8% | 1,598 | 1.3 miles |
| Bishop Justus CofE School | 37.8 | 9.8% | 33% | 1,016 | 1.4 miles |
| St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School | 83.6 | 3.7% | 4.5% | 1,084 | 1.7 miles |
| Hayes School | 54.8 | 7% | 11% | 1,770 | 2.0 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)
- 15.11%
- English as an additional language
- 7.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.59%
- Persistent absence
- 15.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Newstead Wood School0.4 miles
Secondary · Orpington
-
Ravens Wood School1.3 miles
Secondary · Bromley
-
Bishop Justus CofE School1.4 miles
Secondary · Bromley
-
St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School1.7 miles
Secondary · Orpington
-
Hayes School2.0 miles
Secondary · Bromley
Other schools in Orpington
- Newstead Wood School Secondary
- St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School Secondary
- Chelsfield Primary School Primary
- Crofton Infant School Primary
- Crofton Junior School Primary
- Darrick Wood Infant & Nursery School Primary
- Darrick Wood Junior School Primary
- Downe Primary School Primary
- Farnborough Primary School Primary
- Gray's Farm Primary Academy Primary
- Green Street Green Primary School Primary
- Harris Primary Academy Orpington Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Darrick Wood School teach?
- Darrick Wood School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Orpington.
- Who is the head teacher of Darrick Wood School?
- The head teacher of Darrick Wood School is Dr Martin Airey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Darrick Wood School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Darrick Wood 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 Darrick Wood School?
- Darrick Wood School has 1,698 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Darrick Wood School full?
- Darrick Wood School has capacity for 1,825 pupils and 1,698 on roll (93%), so it has space against 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 Darrick Wood School a faith school?
- No. Darrick Wood School has no designated religious character.
- Is Darrick Wood School a selective school?
- No. Darrick Wood School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Darrick Wood School?
- Darrick Wood School is part of IMPACT MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Darrick Wood School have?
- The schools register lists Darrick Wood School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Darrick Wood School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.7 in 2022/23 and 51.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Darrick Wood School rank locally?
- Darrick Wood School ranked 9th of 19 secondary schools in Bromley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Darrick Wood School's absence rate?
- Darrick Wood School's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Darrick Wood School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Darrick Wood 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 1 July 2026.