Leigh Academy Tonbridge Review 2026: A small-school model with an IB-style Key Stage 3 and a clear focus on behaviour

This section uses FindMySchool rankings and the performance measures provided.

GCSE performance (headline measures)

Attainment 8 is 45.7, with an EBacc average point score of 4.38. Progress 8 is 0.07, which indicates slightly above-average progress from students’ starting points across eight subjects. 30.3% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above across the EBacc subjects.

FindMySchool ranking context (GCSE)

Ranked 1,368th in England and 5th in Tonbridge for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which is generally what parents would expect from a securely mid-performing comprehensive with some strengths and some variability by subject and cohort.

A-level performance (sixth form measures)

A* and A are recorded as 0%, with 15.79% at grade B and 15.79% at A* to B combined. Compared with the England averages (23.6% at A* to A, and 47.2% at A* to B), this indicates below-average top-end outcomes in the measured year.

FindMySchool ranking context (A-level)

Ranked 2,502nd in England and 8th in Tonbridge for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This places the sixth form in a below-England-average band overall.

What this means in practice is that the academy’s strongest external signal is not an exam league-table story. Instead, it is the combination of behaviour, pastoral structure, and a curriculum model designed to improve engagement and coherence, particularly in Key Stage 3. Families weighing sixth form should scrutinise subject availability, teaching capacity in key areas, and progression routes, not just headline percentages.

Key Stage 3 is explicitly aligned to the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP), and the academy frames this as a broad, balanced curriculum across eight subject disciplines, with deliberate attention to recalling and retrieving prior learning. That matters because it signals a structured approach to knowledge retention, rather than a purely project-led model.

At sixth form, the academy positions itself as an IB World School for the Career-related Programme (CP) alongside its MYP status. The CP is typically intended to blend academic study with a career-related pathway, which can appeal to students who want a clearer line of sight from sixth form to employment, apprenticeships, or vocational higher education routes. The practical implication for parents is to check how the CP is implemented locally, which pathways run consistently, and how well the timetable supports students combining components without overload.

A final teaching-and-learning feature worth noting is that enrichment is built into the weekly rhythm, rather than being purely optional after-school provision. That creates more equitable access, since transport and family logistics often determine who can stay late.

Where Students Go Next

For families, that means the most reliable destination picture is the general leaver pathway data for the latest cohort available.

For the 2023/24 leavers cohort, 19% progressed to university, 6% to further education, 3% to apprenticeships, and 63% to employment. The cohort size recorded is 32 students, so percentages are sensitive to small changes in individual decisions, and year-to-year shifts are common in cohorts of this size.

In that context, the IB Career-related framing can be a sensible match for students who want a planned transition into work or training and who benefit from a curriculum narrative that values applied learning alongside academic study. Families considering sixth form should still ask direct questions about progression support, local employer links, and how work experience is organised, since these are the levers that typically move employment and apprenticeship outcomes.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through Kent County Council (KCC), and the academy’s published admissions arrangements confirm participation in the KCC coordinated scheme.

For September 2026 entry, Kent’s published timeline states that applications opened on 01 September 2025 and closed on 31 October 2025. Processing runs through to offer day, with key dates also published for offers and response deadlines.

The academy’s own admissions arrangements for 2026/27 specify a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 180 for the relevant year group. Where applications exceed PAN, the published oversubscription criteria prioritise, in order, children in care and previously looked-after children, siblings, children of staff (under defined conditions), and then other children with allocation based on distance once higher criteria are satisfied.

Demand indicators in the admissions snapshot provided show the school as oversubscribed, with 704 applications and 172 offers, and an estimated 4.09 applications per place. In practical terms, that level of demand typically means families should treat admission as competitive unless they meet a priority criterion, and should keep alternative preferences realistic.

The academy also publishes an appeals timetable for September 2026 Year 7 entry, including a deadline of 16:00 on Thursday 02 April 2026 for appeals to be heard in the first tranche.

A useful planning step for families is to use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check your precise home-to-school distance, then compare that with historic patterns for your preferred options. Even without a published “furthest distance at which a place was offered” figure here, distance is often decisive once priority criteria are exhausted.

Pastoral support is structured through colleges and daily form time, with a clear “first port of call” model that routes concerns through tutors and pastoral teams.

The latest Ofsted inspection judged Behaviour and Attitudes as Outstanding and Sixth Form provision as Good, alongside a Good overall judgement.

Ofsted also recorded safeguarding as effective in the published report.

The school’s safeguarding and wellbeing pages indicate a “whole academy” approach to mental health and signpost external support routes. For parents, the important operational question is not whether signposting exists, but how early concerns are identified, how communication with home is managed, and how consistently the behaviour system is applied across subjects and year groups.

Enrichment at Leigh Academy Tonbridge is framed as a weekly expectation rather than a niche add-on. The academy states that enrichment is compulsory, with students selecting preferred activities from a menu that changes termly, and that over 20 activities are offered in a typical term. Examples listed include cookery, sports leaders, world cinema club, construction, coding, science club, K’Nex, tinker club, and badminton. The implication is broader participation, including for students who might not self-select into clubs without built-in structure.

There is also evidence of more targeted, identity-building clubs. The library, for example, runs a Pageturners Book Awards club for Years 7 and 8, linked to a wider local schools network and culminating in an awards event. That kind of programme tends to work well for students who enjoy reading but do not see themselves as “joiners” of sport-first activities.

For parents evaluating fit, a good question is how enrichment choices change between Year 7 and GCSE years, and whether activities continue to feel like genuine breadth rather than a compliance exercise. The fact that the academy schedules enrichment as part of the weekly timetable increases the chances of continuity.

The academy publishes the structure of the day clearly. Students are expected to arrive by 08:40, with the first session starting at 08:45. On Wednesdays, students leave the site at 14:15. Enrichment runs on Thursdays, scheduled 15:15 to 16:05.

As a secondary school, there is not typically a “wraparound care” offer in the primary sense, but timetable clarity matters for working families planning transport, siblings, and after-school commitments. Travel planning will depend on where you live in and around Tonbridge and the wider West Kent area, and families should factor in the Wednesday early finish when arranging recurring clubs, childcare, or transport.

• Sixth form outcomes look uneven. The latest A-level measures available indicate below-England-average top-end attainment in the measured year. Families should explore subject-level performance, class sizes, and progression support before committing to post-16 here.

• Admission is competitive. The most recent demand snapshot shows more than four applications per place and an oversubscribed picture. If you do not meet a priority criterion, it is sensible to keep a balanced set of realistic preferences.

• A school in transition can feel different year to year. The move to co-education from September 2023 and leadership changes from September 2022 can create rapid evolution. For some families, that momentum is attractive; for others, a more settled long-term track record is reassuring.

• The IB-style Key Stage 3 will suit some learners better than others. The MYP emphasis on reflection and interdisciplinary thinking can be motivating, but students who prefer a more traditional, exam-forward Key Stage 3 may need time to adjust.

Leigh Academy Tonbridge is a state secondary with a clear behavioural strength, a deliberately personal pastoral structure through its college model, and a curriculum narrative that leans into IB-style Key Stage 3 learning and a career-related sixth form direction. It will suit families who value predictable routines, strong expectations, and a school attempting to make a large secondary feel more manageable. The main challenge is securing a place in an oversubscribed admissions environment, and sixth form candidates should do careful subject-by-subject homework before deciding it is the right post-16 platform.