SchoolFacts.uk

Leigh Academy Hugh Christie

Secondary · Tonbridge · TN10 4PU

Data updated

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Requires improvement

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.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: Requires improvementPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 11 October 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

688 pupils · 56% of 1,226 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
40.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
5.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
11.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
4.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
https://leighacademyhughchristie.org.uk
URN
150743

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 83 families named it first for 160 Year 7 places, 0.52 first choices per place. We hold 3 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2024 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Requires improvement on 11 October 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.52 first-choice applications per place

160 places offered · 83 first-choice applications · usually has places

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

137 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
40.5
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
54.7%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
29.9%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.5
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C
29.9
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school40.5
Median of its 12 closest peers44.6
Kent average48.4
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind 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.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
John Smeaton AcademyLeeds · 194 miles awayGood29.5
Testwood SchoolSouthampton · 80 miles awayNo current grade42.9
De Aston SchoolMarket Rasen · 152 miles awayNeeds attention42.5
Campsmount AcademyDoncaster · 178 miles awayGood41.5
St Clement's High SchoolKing's Lynn · 107 miles awayGood45.3
Sandymoor Ormiston AcademyRuncorn · 192 miles awayGood44.4
Seaton Valley High SchoolSeaton Delaval · 277 miles awayNo current grade43.2
Orchard Park High SchoolCroydon · 18 miles awayGood44.8
Five Acres High SchoolColeford · 131 miles awayStrong standard51.8
Unsworth AcademyBury · 195 miles awayGood45.4
Oasis Academy John WilliamsBristol · 124 miles awayGood46.9
Merstham Park SchoolRedhill · 19 miles awayExpected standard45

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
18 of 22 places taken places may be available

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 82% (Kent 68%, England 59%) · Not recorded 6% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · Any other White background 5% (Kent 7%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Kent 4%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · Black African 1% (Kent 5%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Kent 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Kent 1%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Kent 2%, England 3%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Kent 0%, England 0%) · 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)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
8.3%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
27%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

16.69 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Kent: 13.55 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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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

Pupils per qualified teacher
18
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

75% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school · 16% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

72.7% of teachers took sickness absence, 11.4 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 £56,917; 22% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£9,994
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 66% (77%) · premises 16% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (6%) · supplies and services 14% (11%) · educational supplies 4% (6%) · bought-in professional services 7% (1%) · catering 1% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£727,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher28.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications17.4%18.1%
In managerial or professional work33.9%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways14.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health46.2%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier84.7%62.3%
Social housing9.1%17.1%
Privately rented6.2%20.5%
Detached houses35.1%22.9%
Flats1.4%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms21.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van11.5%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01024730 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£435,000260 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£375,000–£525,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (56)£595,000
Semi-detached (155)£422,000
Terraced (39)£377,500
Flat (10)£143,500

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
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
2an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
11an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
3an urban school averages 6.1

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