Cornwallis Academy Review 2026: Oversubscribed 11 to 19 academy with a clear community ethos

In a selective county, this is an explicitly non selective, mixed academy that aims to keep its focus on inclusion and belonging. Much of the school’s public messaging centres on the SMILE ethos, described as an ambition to motivate, inspire, excite and engage students, and that theme is echoed in formal external commentary about behaviour, relationships, and the pastoral climate.

Cornwallis Academy serves students aged 11 to 19 and is part of Future Schools Trust. It is a large school by Kent standards, with a published capacity of 1,825 places, so daily life is shaped by systems and routines that can work at scale when they are applied consistently.

The headline for families is often admissions demand. For Year 7 entry, the most recent application cycle shows a meaningfully oversubscribed picture, with substantially more applications than offers. That is the practical reality to plan around, even before you get into curriculum fit, pastoral style, or enrichment.

The school’s identity has two overlapping strands. One is local history and reinvention. Cornwallis opened in 1959 as Cornwallis School and later joined Future Schools Trust as an academy, with a rebuild programme that replaced the former site with modern facilities and updated technology.

The second strand is culture. The SMILE language is used not as a slogan but as a framework for how students are expected to conduct themselves and how staff describe their work. External commentary points to calm, orderly conduct and a consistent approach to behaviour management, with students reporting that staff deal with issues fairly and predictably.

There are also specific indicators of student leadership and peer support that help a large school feel more navigable. Year 11 prefects supporting younger pupils’ reading is a concrete example of older students taking ownership of the tone of the school. Sixth form students running an anti bullying club (ABC) is another, and it matters because it gives younger pupils an additional route for help that is not purely adult led.

Leadership is clearly signposted. The headteacher is Mrs Samantha McMahon, who is also listed within the wider trust structure.

This section uses FindMySchool rankings and metrics based on official datasets. These rankings are proprietary to FindMySchool and are designed for like for like comparison across schools in England.

GCSE outcomes

Cornwallis Academy is ranked 3,191st in England and 9th in Maidstone for GCSE outcomes in the FindMySchool ranking. This places the school below England average, within the lower 40% of ranked schools in England on this measure.

The GCSE profile points to a school where attainment and progress are both key issues for families to understand. The average Attainment 8 score is 37.9, and the Progress 8 score is -0.33, which indicates students make less progress than similar students nationally from their starting points.

A further pressure point is the English Baccalaureate pathway. The dataset records 8.7% achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc subjects, and the school’s latest external commentary flags modern foreign language uptake as a priority area because it affects EBacc entry.

Sixth form outcomes

For A level outcomes, Cornwallis Academy is ranked 2,533rd in England and 10th in Maidstone in the FindMySchool ranking. This again places the school below England average on this measure.

The A level grade profile is modest. 10.49% of entries are at A* to B, with 0% at A*, 2.1% at A, and 8.39% at B. As with GCSE, the implication for families is that outcomes are likely to be more variable by subject and by individual student than at consistently high attaining sixth forms, and that subject choice and support arrangements matter.

What the numbers mean for parents

The results profile suggests a school with strengths in culture, wellbeing, and enrichment, alongside an academic story that benefits from careful due diligence at subject level. If your child is broadly motivated, values structure, and will engage with support and routines, this environment can work well. If your child needs a very high pressure academic track or a sixth form with consistently high A level outcomes across the board, it is sensible to compare options locally and ask direct questions about your child’s intended subjects.

Parents comparing schools locally can use the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool to view GCSE and sixth form metrics side by side.

The curriculum is described in external commentary as well planned and carefully sequenced, with a stated aim that students revisit content and build retention through routine retrieval and recap. That kind of approach tends to suit students who benefit from structure and repeated practice rather than purely independent study.

Reading is treated as a cross school priority, with targeted interventions designed to tackle barriers to reading. The important practical point is that this is not limited to English lessons, it is designed to help students access the full curriculum, especially in a large secondary where gaps in reading fluency can quickly become a barrier in humanities and science.

There is also a clear improvement agenda. External commentary highlights that curriculum quality is not yet consistently embedded across all subjects, partly linked to staffing shortages in a small number of areas. The implication is that families should ask how the school stabilises staffing in specialist subjects, and how it ensures consistent implementation of curriculum expectations from one department to another.

For many families, the sixth form question is not only about A level grades, but about routes after Year 13. Cornwallis places careers education front and centre, and external commentary points to a well established careers programme, including visiting speakers and links that support university applications.

The destination picture for the 2023 to 2024 leavers cohort indicates multiple routes. 27% progressed to university, 8% started apprenticeships, 34% moved into employment, and 6% progressed to further education. These figures reflect a sixth form where outcomes are not dominated by a single pathway, and where advice and guidance should be matched to the student’s intended route rather than assuming a one size fits all model.

For students who are more practically oriented, that mixed destination profile can be a strength, particularly when apprenticeships and employment are treated as planned outcomes rather than a fallback. For students who want a strongly academic pipeline, the key is to interrogate subject level support and progression guidance early in Year 12.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through Kent’s local authority process, rather than direct application to the school. The school’s own published timeline for September 2026 entry states that applications open on 01 September 2025 and close on 31 October 2025, with national offer day on 01 March 2026.

Demand and competitiveness

The admissions data shows a clearly oversubscribed picture for the most recent cycle: 638 applications for 230 offers, which is about 2.77 applications per offer. For parents, the implication is that Cornwallis is not a casual backup. It needs to sit in a realistic preference set, with careful attention to the local authority’s rules and the way your preferences are ranked.

Oversubscription criteria and scholarships

The school participates in the local authority coordinated process for Year 7 and has a published admission number of 210 for Year 7 intake in the admissions arrangements for 2026 to 2027. The published oversubscription criteria include priority for pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, looked after and previously looked after children, and then other criteria including siblings and distance.

A distinctive feature is that 10% of places offered to new Year 7s are described as scholarship places for aptitude in Art, Dance or Football, subject to audition. For families considering this route, the key question is whether a scholarship application complements a strong local authority application strategy rather than replacing it.

Sixth form entry

The admissions arrangements indicate a sixth form capacity across Years 12 and 13, and that internal progression from the trust’s academies is expected to account for many places, with additional external students admitted where capacity allows.

For external applicants, the practical advice is to check course entry requirements early, and to confirm how oversubscription is handled for popular courses in a given year.

To sense check your position for secondary entry, families can use FindMySchoolMap Search to compare their distance and realistic preference strategy, noting that allocation outcomes vary year to year.

Pastoral messaging is a major part of Cornwallis’s public identity, and external commentary supports that this is more than branding. Students are described as happy and safe, relationships are framed as supportive, and there is explicit emphasis on welfare and wellbeing through personal development.

Two practical examples stand out. The ABC anti bullying club run by sixth form students gives pupils a peer supported route for concerns, and the structured approach to behaviour, described as calm and orderly, reduces day to day friction that can otherwise erode learning time in a large school.

Safeguarding is also a clear strength in the most recent inspection evidence, with emphasis on staff training and well maintained safer recruitment processes.

Cornwallis places significant weight on enrichment as part of its offer, and there are multiple strands rather than a single flagship activity.

The school states that it runs 40 plus extra curricular clubs spanning academic areas, performing arts, sport, and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award activity. The Duke of Edinburgh route is also highlighted externally as a significant participation strand. The implication is that the school is using enrichment not just as an add on, but as a way to build belonging and widen experience for students who may not otherwise access travel or structured clubs outside school.

Travel is presented as part of that enrichment picture, with examples of previous international trips including Iceland, Belgium, China and France, plus expeditions to Borneo and Ecuador. For parents, the relevant question is how places are allocated, how costs are managed, and what financial support exists for disadvantaged students.

Sport has both participation and pathway elements. The school references multiple team sports, and it also has a structured football pathway through scholarships and a post 16 football academy offering combined study and training. This is the kind of offer that suits students who want sport to be central to their week, and it can also be a strong engagement tool for students who do best when their timetable includes physical routine alongside classroom learning.

Facilities are part of the story, particularly for sport. The school promotes a dedicated 3G pitch facility through its own channels, which suggests an intention to provide reliable, all weather space for training and fixtures, and potentially community use outside school hours where permitted.

The published school day timings show registration from 08:20 and lessons running to 14:55, with break and lunch structured into the day. This gives families a clear planning baseline, especially if your child relies on bus transport or after school provision.

Transport is closely linked to Kent’s Travel Saver arrangements. The school references a Travel Saver cost of £580 for the year, or £590 if paying in instalments, and it also notes a £135 free school meals pass option for eligible students. For some families, those transport costs are material and should be part of budgeting alongside uniform, trips, and optional activities.

• Academic outcomes are below England average on headline measures. GCSE and A level FindMySchool rankings sit in the lower tier nationally, and Progress 8 is negative. For some students this will be manageable with strong engagement and support, but families should ask department level questions for intended subjects.

• Modern foreign language uptake is a stated improvement priority. External commentary highlights language take up as too low, which affects EBacc entry. If your child is linguistically inclined, it is worth asking how languages are promoted and how option choices are supported.

• Admission is competitive. The most recent admissions data shows a clear oversubscription picture. Families should plan preferences carefully and avoid assuming a place based on general reputation alone.

• Large school dynamics are not for everyone. With a large roll and a broad age range, some students thrive on the scale and opportunity, while others do better in smaller settings. The right question is how your child responds to busy transitions, larger year groups, and the need to self organise.

Cornwallis Academy presents as a large, inclusive secondary and sixth form with a consistent emphasis on community, wellbeing, and enrichment, backed by strong evidence on behaviour, safeguarding, and personal development. The trade off is that headline academic outcomes, particularly in the sixth form, sit below England average on the available measures, so fit matters.

Who it suits: students who benefit from structure, value a clear behavioural framework, and are likely to engage with enrichment, sport pathways, or strong careers guidance. Admission is the obstacle; the pastoral and enrichment offer is more convincing once a place is secured.