Astor Secondary School
Academy converter · sixth form · 732 pupils
72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 27.9
Academy sponsor led
Orion Spires
- Pupils on roll
- 620of 750 places
- Free school meals
- 43.8%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 134
- Ofsted
- Good, 10 January 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Montgomery School (URN 118925).
What the data says
Of the 125 pupils who finished Year 11 at Orion Spires in 2023, 26% stayed on in Orion Spires’ own sixth form (Kent average 56%), 47% went to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 36.1 against 46.1 across England and 46.7 in Kent, with 22% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Photography is unusually popular at GCSE: 24% of the year group took it, against 6% of pupils across England.
Languages are a small part of the curriculum here: entries in French add up to 10% of the year group, and 10% of pupils entered the full EBacc set of subjects (England 41%).
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 | Orion Spires | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 125 | 17,954 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 84% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 76% | 88% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 26% | 56% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 47% | 28% | 37% |
| — other education | 2% | 4% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 5% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 8% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Orion Spires | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 36.1 | 46.7 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 22% | 47% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 47% | 65% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 10% | 47% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.03 | 4.18 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 42% | 25% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 28.4 | 32.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 41.7 | 51.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 13% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 134 | 100% | 88% | 4% | 22% | 55% |
| English Language | 133 | 99% | 89% | 6% | 20% | 46% |
| English Literature | 131 | 98% | 86% | 6% | 21% | 58% |
| Combined Science | 120 | 90% | 65% | 2% | 9% | 53% |
| Geography | 79 | 59% | 41% | 5% | 25% | 38% |
| Business Studies | 48 | 36% | 18% | 0% | 20% | 35% |
| History | 40 | 30% | 41% | 13% | 26% | 53% |
| 3D Design | 38 | 28% | 2% | 0% | 16% | 45% |
| Photography | 32 | 24% | 6% | 6% | 19% | 91% |
| Drama | 23 | 17% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 30% |
| Art and Design | 15 | 11% | 7% | 13% | 24% | 80% |
| French | 14 | 10% | 18% | 29% | 29% | 79% |
| Religious Studies | 14 | 10% | 31% | 7% | 32% | 71% |
| Physics | 10 | 7% | 23% | 10% | 46% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 10 | 7% | 23% | 10% | 47% | 100% |
| Biology | 10 | 7% | 23% | 30% | 45% | 100% |
| Fine Art | 2 | 1% | 9% | — | 28% | — |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 1 | 1% | 8% | — | 21% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Turkish | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Citizenship Studies | 1 | 1% | 3% | — | 19% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 34 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 31 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 24 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 24 | — | — |
| Childcare Skills | 21 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 19 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 1 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 1 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 1 | — | — |
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.