The Discovery School
Primary · West Malling · ME19 4GJ
Data updated
Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system
This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.
Inspected 21 February 2023
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
634 pupils · 101% of 630 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Community school
- Age range
- 4–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 8.2% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 6.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 10.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 1.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Website
- www.discovery.kent.sch.uk
- URN
- 134057
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 77 families named it first for 90 Reception places, 0.86 first choices per place. We hold 4 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2023 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Outstanding on 21 February 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026
0.86 first-choice applications per place90 places offered · 77 first-choice applications · roughly balanced
First-choice applications per place, by entry year
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The distance published for 2026 entry is not shown here.
Admissions cutoff distance: Reception
The distance published for 2026 entry is not shown here.
It is far outside anything this school's other years or comparable schools show, so it would not tell you how close you need to live.
Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: West Malling school admissions · Kent school admissions
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
95 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means
Schools with a similar intake
Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025
On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.
They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.
It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 75% (Kent 70%, England 60%) · Any other Mixed background 6% (Kent 3%, England 3%) · Any other White background 4% (Kent 7%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 4% (Kent 3%, England 4%) · Black African 2% (Kent 5%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Not recorded 1% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Kent 1%, England 5%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Kent 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Kent 2%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · other groups together 1%
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
0.16 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Kent: 3.00 suspensions and 0.01 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
90% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 3% moved to another state school · 7% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
52.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 10.4 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £47,625; 15.2% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2025-26)
Where the money went (2025-26)
Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 79% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (3%) · catering 5% (5%)
Reserves (2025-26)
Revenue reserve £85,211; in-year balance +£8,388
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 21 February 2023: Outstanding
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 40.4% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 9.3% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 49.5% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 4.8% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 64.6% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 82% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 6.9% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 11% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 46.3% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 8.3% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 59.7% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 3.3% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01032827 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £525,000250 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £435,000–£625,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roads around the school
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 1a rural school averages 0.3
- Collisions at school-run times
- 1a rural school averages 0.7
- All reported collisions
- 3a rural school averages 3.4
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 1a rural school averages 0.9
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted
Nearby schools
- Kings Hill School Primary and Nursery
- Valley Invicta Primary School At Kings Hill
- The Malling School
- Wateringbury Church of England Primary School
- More Park Catholic Primary School
- Lift St James the Great
- West Malling Church of England Primary School and McGinty Speech and Language Srp
- Leybourne, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy