The Kingston Academy
Richmond Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 5PE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- KINGSTON EDUCATIONAL TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Sophie Cavanagh
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability
- Constituency
- Richmond Park
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,188
- Pupils on roll
- 1,213
- URN
- 141862
- Local authority
- Kingston upon Thames
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02084656200
About this school
The Kingston Academy is a secondary academy in Kingston upon Thames. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,213 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Kingston Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 April 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 180 | 176 | 209 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.6 | 62.1 | 62.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.80 +0.58 to +1.02 | +1.16 +0.94 to +1.38 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 72% | 75.6% | 78.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 87% | 88.1% | 88.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 77% | 73.9% | 74.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.4 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
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 Kingston Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kingston upon Thames average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57.6 | 51.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 62.1 | 50 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 62.8 | 50.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,176 |
| 2023/24 | 1,168 |
| 2024/25 | 1,178 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Kingston Academy compares
The Kingston Academy ranked 3rd of 11 secondary schools in Kingston upon Thames for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 62.8 | 6.4% | 13.3% | 1,213 | — |
| The Tiffin Girls' School | 85.3 | 5.1% | 9.1% | 1,267 | 0.1 miles |
| Teddington School | 56.5 | 8.3% | 18.2% | 1,405 | 0.5 miles |
| Tiffin School | 79.1 | 4.4% | 3.4% | 1,478 | 0.9 miles |
| Grey Court School | 62.8 | 4.4% | 12.8% | 1,650 | 1.1 miles |
| The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form Centre | 53.8 | 6.6% | 24.6% | 1,212 | 1.9 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)
- 13.33%
- English as an additional language
- 26.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.37%
- Persistent absence
- 16.22%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Tiffin Girls' School0.1 miles
Secondary · Kingston upon Thames
-
Teddington School0.5 miles
Secondary · Teddington
-
Tiffin School0.9 miles
Secondary · Kingston upon Thames
-
Grey Court School1.1 miles
Secondary · Richmond
-
The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form Centre1.9 miles
Secondary · Surbiton
Other schools in Kingston upon Thames
- The Tiffin Girls' School Secondary
- Tiffin School Secondary
- Alexandra Primary School Primary
- Coombe Hill Infant School Primary
- Coombe Hill Junior School Primary
- Fern Hill Primary School Primary
- King Athelstan Primary School Primary
- Latchmere School Primary
- Lime Tree Primary School Primary
- St Agatha's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St John the Baptist Church of England Junior School Primary
- St John's C of E Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Kingston Academy teach?
- The Kingston Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Kingston upon Thames.
- Who is the headteacher of The Kingston Academy?
- The headteacher of The Kingston Academy is Ms Sophie Cavanagh, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Kingston Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Kingston Academy, 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 The Kingston Academy?
- The Kingston Academy has 1,213 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is The Kingston Academy full?
- The Kingston Academy has capacity for 1,188 pupils and 1,213 on roll (102%), 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 Kingston Academy a faith school?
- No. The Kingston Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Kingston Academy a selective school?
- No. The Kingston Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Kingston Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Kingston Academy is part of KINGSTON EDUCATIONAL TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Kingston Academy have?
- The schools register lists The Kingston Academy's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Kingston Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.6 in 2022/23 and 62.8 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 Kingston Academy compare with other schools in Kingston upon Thames?
- The Kingston Academy ranked 3rd of 11 secondary schools in Kingston upon Thames for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% 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 Kingston Academy's absence rate?
- The Kingston Academy's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Kingston Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Kingston Academy'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 2 July 2026.