The Lenham School
Ham Lane, Lenham, Maidstone, ME17 2LL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- VALLEY INVICTA ACADEMIES TRUST
- Head of School
- Mr Robbie Ferguson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Valley Invicta Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Faversham and Mid Kent
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,012
- Pupils on roll
- 820
- URN
- 143954
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01622858267
About this school
The Lenham School is a secondary academy in Maidstone. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 820 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Lenham School, 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 148 | 145 | 146 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.3 | 38.6 | 37.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.25 -0.49 to -0.02 | -0.32 -0.56 to -0.08 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 20% | 25.5% | 15.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 46% | 46.9% | 43.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 72% | 75.2% | 26.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.1 |
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 Lenham 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 | 38.3 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.6 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 37 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 779 |
| 2023/24 | 805 |
| 2024/25 | 826 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Lenham School compares
The Lenham School ranked 78th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37 | 9.3% | 30.4% | 820 | — |
| Fulston Manor School | 35.3 | 11.8% | 25.3% | 1,314 | 6.6 miles |
| Highsted Grammar School | 61.1 | 6% | 12.5% | 793 | 6.6 miles |
| The Sittingbourne School | 34.1 | 10.8% | 40.9% | 1,556 | 6.8 miles |
| Borden Grammar School | 63.2 | 4.1% | 12.3% | 938 | 6.9 miles |
| Westlands School | 40.6 | 9% | 29.9% | 1,690 | 7.1 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
-
Ungraded inspection report5 February 2025
- 5 November 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.43%
- English as an additional language
- 3.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.33%
- Persistent absence
- 28.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Fulston Manor School6.6 miles
Secondary · Sittingbourne
-
Highsted Grammar School6.6 miles
Secondary · Sittingbourne
-
The Sittingbourne School6.8 miles
Secondary · Sittingbourne
-
Borden Grammar School6.9 miles
Secondary · Sittingbourne
-
Westlands School7.1 miles
Secondary · Sittingbourne
Other schools in Maidstone
The Lenham School ranks 10th of the 12 ranked secondary schools in Maidstone.
- Cornwallis Academy Secondary
- Invicta Grammar School Secondary
- Maidstone Grammar School Secondary
- Maidstone Grammar School for Girls Secondary
- New Line Learning Academy Secondary
- Oakwood Park Grammar School Secondary
- School of Science and Technology Maidstone Secondary
- St Augustine Academy Secondary
- St Simon Stock Catholic School Secondary
- The Maplesden Noakes School Secondary
- Valley Park School Secondary
- Allington Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Lenham School teach?
- The Lenham School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Maidstone.
- Who is the head of school of The Lenham School?
- The head of school of The Lenham School is Mr Robbie Ferguson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Lenham School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Lenham 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 many pupils are at The Lenham School?
- The Lenham School has 820 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Lenham School full?
- The Lenham School has capacity for 1,012 pupils and 820 on roll (81%), 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 The Lenham School a faith school?
- No. The Lenham School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Lenham School a selective school?
- No. The Lenham School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Lenham School part of an academy trust?
- The Lenham School is part of VALLEY INVICTA ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Lenham School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.3 in 2022/23 and 37 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 Lenham School compare with other schools in Kent?
- The Lenham School ranked 78th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% 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 Lenham School's absence rate?
- The Lenham School's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Lenham School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Lenham 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 10 July 2026.