The Lenham School Review 2026: A community-centred secondary with a clear character framework

A rural edge-of-Maidstone setting, a large 11 to 18 intake, and a trust-backed structure combine to create a school that feels both local and strategically organised. The Lenham School sits within Valley Invicta Academies Trust and runs a clearly articulated culture model, The Lenham Character Compass, which underpins expectations, routines, and the language pupils use about their own development.

Leadership has been a key recent theme. Robbie Ferguson was appointed headteacher in September 2023, alongside an executive headteacher model within the trust. The most recent external review confirmed safeguarding as effective and found the school had taken effective action to maintain the standards from its previous graded inspection.

The strongest first impression is how deliberately the school describes, and then reinforces, what it means to be a Lenham pupil. The Lenham Character Compass is not treated as branding. It is referenced as the organising framework for “all aspects of school life”, shaping how staff frame behaviour, how pupils talk about belonging, and how leadership roles are presented. Pupils are described as happy and proud to attend, with a tangible sense of community and shared ambition.

That ambition is pitched as inclusive rather than selective. Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities are supported to access the full curriculum, and disadvantaged pupils are identified and supported through a model that aims to remove barriers early. In practice, this matters most in a school of this size because systems either scale or they do not. The evidence points to a school that is trying to make its systems do the heavy lifting, rather than relying on individual heroics.

Behaviour is described as calm and purposeful. Social times matter here. Pupils talk, play sport, and use the spaces confidently. The dining hall is explicitly referenced as calm, which often signals good supervision and clear routines rather than simply a quieter cohort. Staff are also described as trusted adults, with pupils confident that concerns will be listened to and acted on.

A final cultural note is that the school appears to place genuine weight on personal development rather than treating it as an add-on. The personal development programme is taught daily, with structured coverage of fairness, mutual respect, the rule of law, healthy relationships, and consent. For parents, the practical implication is that PSHE-style learning is likely to feel more consistent and less dependent on a single year group assembly slot.

This review separates two realities that can sit side-by-side in many community secondaries: published outcomes for a prior cohort, and the current learning climate described by external review.

GCSE performance indicators (most recent dataset) include:

• Attainment 8 score: 38.5

• Progress 8 score: -0.32

• EBacc average point score: 3.44

• Percentage achieving grades 5 or above in EBacc: 8.3

Progress 8 is the clearest overall signal here because it is designed around pupil progress relative to similar starting points, with 0 broadly indicating England average. A Progress 8 score of -0.32 suggests students, on average, made below-average progress through the secondary phase.

FindMySchool’s proprietary ranking based on official data places the school 3115th in England for GCSE outcomes, and 7th within Maidstone on the same measure. That sits within the bottom 40% of schools in England on this ranking approach, which is a meaningful prompt for parents to look beyond headline promises and ask sharp questions about how improvement work is translating into examination readiness.

Sixth form outcomes (A-level measures) show:

• 25% of grades at B

• 25% of grades at A* to B combined

• 0% at A* and 0% at A (as recorded)

Set against the England average benchmark for A* to B of 47.2%, a 25% figure indicates outcomes that are currently below typical England patterns.

For A-levels, FindMySchool’s proprietary ranking based on official data places the school 2407th in England, and 8th in Maidstone.

The most recent external review complicates any simplistic interpretation. It explicitly notes that pupils in 2024 did not achieve well enough in national tests such as GCSEs, then links this to the impact of the pandemic and high levels of absence, while also stating that pupils currently at the school are typically learning well because expectations have been raised and curriculum changes have been implemented.

For families, the practical implication is that this is a school to evaluate through trajectory. Ask what has changed since 2023 and 2024, how subject leadership checks learning gaps, and what is being done to improve attendance for the pupils most at risk of underachievement.

Parents comparing local options can use the FindMySchool Local Hub page to view GCSE and sixth form outcomes side-by-side using the Comparison Tool.

Teaching and curriculum are described as an active improvement area rather than a static strength. The most useful detail is that the school has undertaken “vital improvements” to the curriculum, with careful sequencing so new learning builds on what pupils already know. That is the language of curriculum coherence rather than simply adding more content, and it usually signals stronger schemes of work and clearer expectations for what is taught when.

Subject knowledge is framed as a staff strength. Teachers are described as modelling learning effectively and developing subject-specific vocabulary. The school also identifies pupils’ reading and writing needs carefully and then provides extra help, supporting students to become more confident readers and writers.

The most important “watch item” is assessment practice. Sometimes, teachers do not check what pupils know and understand carefully enough before moving them on, which can allow gaps and misconceptions to persist. The implication is straightforward: for some students, learning may feel coherent and well-structured; for others, especially those who are quieter or who have uneven prior knowledge, the risk is that misunderstandings can go undetected until later.

At sixth form level, students are described as appreciative of the range of subjects on offer and the way continuing education improves future options. Parents considering post-16 should explore how the school supports independent study habits, what happens when a student struggles early in Year 12, and how subject-specific entry expectations are set.

For a school with a relatively small sixth form cohort in the most recent external review, destinations matter both as outcomes and as a signal of guidance quality. The external review highlights that pupils, including sixth form students, receive useful information about university and apprenticeship options, and that this is helping to raise aspirations.

In the 2023/24 leavers cohort (16 students), 25% progressed to university, 6% started apprenticeships, and 31% entered employment. This points to a mixed pathway picture rather than a single dominant destination route, which can be positive if careers guidance is strong and students make intentional choices rather than defaulting.

Oxbridge figures are not available for the relevant period, so this review does not infer an Oxbridge pipeline. The more helpful question for most families is whether the sixth form supports both academic and technical routes with equal seriousness, and whether students can access meaningful work experience, structured applications support, and realistic pathway planning.

Year 7 admission is coordinated through Kent County Council using the Secondary Common Application Form process, rather than applying directly to the school. For September 2026 entry, the key dates published in Kent materials include applications opening on 01 September 2025, the closing date of 31 October 2025, and national offer day on 02 March 2026, with a published acceptance deadline of 16 March 2026.

The published admission number for Year 7 is 150. Oversubscription criteria follow the standard hierarchy starting with looked after and previously looked after children, then other categories as defined in the determined arrangements.

Demand indicators available in the admissions dataset show 407 applications and 156 offers recorded for the relevant entry route, with oversubscription indicated. While parents should treat any single-year figure with care, this does suggest that entry can be competitive.

Open events are often the most practical way to judge fit. For the 2026 entry cycle, the school ran open mornings in early October 2025 and an open evening in early October 2025, using timed booking slots. Dates will move each year, but the early autumn pattern is a useful planning assumption if you are looking ahead.

For sixth form entry, published guidance indicates applications for the 2026 intake opened on 03 November 2025 and close on 02 June 2026, with a sixth form open evening held on 25 November 2025.

Parents assessing likelihood of entry should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check their precise distance and understand how distance criteria can play out in practice, where relevant. Distances vary annually based on applicant distribution; proximity provides priority but does not guarantee a place.

Pastoral support is framed around trust and consistency. Pupils are described as feeling safe and well cared for, and they trust staff to help if they have a concern. That combination typically correlates with clear reporting routes and adults who follow up rather than simply listening.

Attendance is a key wellbeing and achievement issue. Attendance is described as improving, with the school analysing trends and providing additional support for pupils who do not attend regularly. At the same time, too many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and disabilities, do not attend regularly enough, limiting progress and reducing access to wider opportunities. For parents, this is not just a statistic point. It influences classroom pace, revision momentum, and social integration. It is worth asking what the school does early, not just at crisis point.

The daily personal development curriculum matters here as a protective factor. Regular teaching around healthy relationships, consent, and respectful culture can strengthen safeguarding awareness, particularly when it is not treated as an occasional drop-down day.

Extra-curricular life is presented as both broad and normalised rather than restricted to a small group. Named clubs cited include choir, dance, badminton, and art, with many pupils participating in a wider set of activities. These are accessible activities that can suit both confident joiners and students who are still finding their place.

Leadership opportunities are also a visible feature. Roles such as school council membership and reading partners are explicitly referenced, with sixth form students taking responsibility for being role models to younger pupils. The implication for families is that confidence-building is structured into school life, and students can practise responsibility in real, bounded roles rather than through abstract “leadership values” talk.

Sport appears to be part of the informal rhythm of the day, not just timetabled physical education. Pupils are described as playing sports during social times, which usually indicates accessible facilities and a culture where activity is normal.

For some pupils, alternative provision is part of the offer. A small number of pupils are educated through registered alternative providers, which can be an important support mechanism when mainstream timetables are not currently workable.

The school is in Lenham, with the A20 running to the north of the area and rural settlement characteristics shaping the travel pattern for many families. Lenham railway station is a practical option for older students commuting by train; National Rail and Southeastern publish current facilities and ticket office information for the station.

Published term dates for 2025/26 indicate a September start and a July finish, with the year divided into six terms in the Kent pattern. Daily start and finish times, and the timing of any breakfast or after-school provision, can vary by year group and transport arrangements, so families should confirm these directly when planning logistics.

• Outcomes remain a work in progress. Progress 8 sits below England average in the latest dataset, and GCSE and A-level rankings place the school in the lower tier nationally on the FindMySchool methodology. This makes it important to ask what has changed since 2023 and how improvement is being monitored.

• Attendance is a genuine improvement priority. Too many pupils do not attend regularly enough, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and disabilities, which can limit learning and access to wider school life.

• Assessment consistency can vary. When checking of understanding is not tight enough, gaps can persist. Families with a child who needs frequent feedback, or who is prone to quiet confusion, should probe how departments identify and address misconceptions.

• Sixth form scale is modest. A smaller cohort can mean stronger relationships and clearer support; it can also mean a more limited subject mix and fewer timetable combinations. Ask about subject viability, class sizes, and what happens if a course does not recruit.

The Lenham School presents as a community secondary with a well-defined character framework and a clear focus on maintaining safe, calm routines while strengthening curriculum and outcomes. External review supports the picture of pupils who feel they belong and a school that has taken effective action to maintain standards, with safeguarding effective.

This will suit families seeking an 11 to 18 school that prioritises structure, relationships, and personal development, and who are prepared to engage closely with the school’s improvement agenda around attendance, assessment, and examination outcomes. The challenge lies less in what the school says it wants to be, and more in how consistently that translates into strong results across all subjects and student groups.