School of Science and Technology Maidstone
New Cut Road, Maidstone, ME14 5GQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- VALLEY INVICTA ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Ryan Royston
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Valley Invicta Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Faversham and Mid Kent
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,056
- URN
- 144716
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01622938444
About this school
School of Science and Technology Maidstone is a secondary academy in Maidstone. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,056 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 190 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.0 |
| Progress 8 score | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 76.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 71.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 |
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 School of Science and Technology Maidstone has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 576 |
| 2023/24 | 765 |
| 2024/25 | 953 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How School of Science and Technology Maidstone compares
School of Science and Technology Maidstone ranked 37th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% 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 | 48 | 6.6% | 14% | 1,056 | — |
| Valley Park School | 37.6 | 7.6% | 22.8% | 1,555 | 0.2 miles |
| Invicta Grammar School | 70.8 | 3.8% | 7.3% | 1,670 | 0.4 miles |
| Maidstone Grammar School | 68.4 | 4.7% | 7.9% | 1,443 | 0.8 miles |
| Maidstone Grammar School for Girls | 66.4 | 5.3% | 9.9% | 1,254 | 1.5 miles |
| The Maplesden Noakes School | 39.6 | 9.1% | 25.6% | 1,418 | 1.6 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)
- 13.96%
- English as an additional language
- 11.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.57%
- Persistent absence
- 16.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Valley Park School0.2 miles
Secondary · Maidstone
-
Invicta Grammar School0.4 miles
Secondary · Maidstone
-
Maidstone Grammar School0.8 miles
Secondary · Maidstone
-
Maidstone Grammar School for Girls1.5 miles
Secondary · Maidstone
-
The Maplesden Noakes School1.6 miles
Secondary · Maidstone
Other schools in Maidstone
School of Science and Technology Maidstone ranks 5th 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
- St Augustine Academy Secondary
- St Simon Stock Catholic School Secondary
- The Lenham School Secondary
- The Maplesden Noakes School Secondary
- Valley Park School Secondary
- Allington Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does School of Science and Technology Maidstone teach?
- School of Science and Technology Maidstone teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Maidstone.
- Who is the headteacher of School of Science and Technology Maidstone?
- The headteacher of School of Science and Technology Maidstone is Mr Ryan Royston, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was School of Science and Technology Maidstone last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected School of Science and Technology Maidstone, 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 School of Science and Technology Maidstone?
- School of Science and Technology Maidstone has 1,056 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is School of Science and Technology Maidstone full?
- School of Science and Technology Maidstone has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,056 on roll (88%), 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 School of Science and Technology Maidstone a faith school?
- No. School of Science and Technology Maidstone has no designated religious character.
- Is School of Science and Technology Maidstone a selective school?
- No. School of Science and Technology Maidstone is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs School of Science and Technology Maidstone?
- School of Science and Technology Maidstone 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 does School of Science and Technology Maidstone rank locally?
- School of Science and Technology Maidstone ranked 37th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% 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 School of Science and Technology Maidstone's absence rate?
- School of Science and Technology Maidstone's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are School of Science and Technology Maidstone's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, School of Science and Technology Maidstone'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.