Astor Secondary School
Academy converter · sixth form · 732 pupils
72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 27.9
Foundation special school
The Orchard School
- Pupils on roll
- 119
- Free school meals
- 73.1%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 13
- Ofsted
- Report card, 3 February 2026Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Needs attentionAchievement Needs attentionAttendance and behaviour Needs attentionPersonal development and wellbeing Expected standardInclusion Needs attentionLeadership and governance Needs attentionPost-16 provision Not applicableSafeguarding Met
What the data says
Of the 13 pupils who finished Year 11 at The Orchard School in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 15% to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and 15% went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.
The Orchard School is a special school: its GCSE figures (Attainment 8 of 6.6, 0% with grade 5 or above in English and maths) are published by DfE for completeness and are not comparable with mainstream schools.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Kent and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Orchard School | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 13 | 17,954 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 69% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 54% | 88% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 15% | 56% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 15% | 28% | 37% |
| — other education | 23% | 4% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 15% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 23% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Orchard School | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 6.6 | 46.7 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 47% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 65% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 0% | 47% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 0.67 | 4.18 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 77% | 25% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | — | 32.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | — | 51.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 0% | 12% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combined Science | 9 | 69% | 65% | 0% | 9% | 0% |
| English Language | 8 | 62% | 89% | 0% | 20% | 0% |
| Mathematics | 7 | 54% | 88% | 0% | 22% | 0% |
| Fine Art | 2 | 15% | 9% | — | 28% | — |
| Computer Science | 2 | 15% | 13% | — | 30% | — |
Other secondary schools in Kent
Aylesford School
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 916 pupils
73% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.6
Barton Court Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 995 pupils
97% stayed in education · Attainment 8 66.4
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,913 pupils
95% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.0
Borden Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 938 pupils
94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 63.2
Brockhill Park Performing Arts College
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,314 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.4
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.