Charles Darwin School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Bromley
Jail Lane, Westerham, TN16 3AU
61
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 15/06/2023
Application demand
99%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
89.6%
30.6% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,305
Capacity used
Nearly full96%
1,356 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
99%
1st preference success rate
155 of 156 families who put it first got an offer
224
Places offered
435
Total applications
1.9
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 156 | 155 | ● 99% |
| 2nd preference | 92 | 31 | ● 34% |
| 3rd preference | 57 | 18 | ● 32% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 130 | 20 | ● 15% |
| Total | 435 | 224 | 51% |
1st preference success by year
Bromley lets families list 6 preferences. 109 applications came from outside the council area (46 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Aston Smith
- Address
- Jail Lane, Biggin Hill, Westerham, TN16 3AU
- Phone
- 01959574043
- Local authority
- Bromley
- Ward / constituency
- Darwin · Orpington
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 136545
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 24% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 3% | — | — |
| SEN support | 17% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: LUMERO EDUCATIONAL TRUST
1,305 pupils · 1,356 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
15 June 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessSixth form Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,129 pupils
Attendance
89.6%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
10.4%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
30.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
4.0%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.2%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 42.6 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.34 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 38% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 59% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.57 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 29.06 | — | — |
Average grade: C (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 38.9 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 24.4% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 50.7% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 18.3% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.25 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 213 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 29.49 | 35 |
| Average grade | C | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 2.4% | 17% |
| A-level students | 107 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 212 | 9% | 31% | 61% | |
| English Language | 212 | 8% | 36% | 57% | |
| English Literature | 203 | 4% | 31% | 54% | |
| Combined Science | 177 | 2% | 20% | 35% | |
| History | 108 | 10% | 36% | 43% | |
| Business | 90 | 11% | 33% | 49% | |
| Geography | 80 | 5% | 35% | 55% | |
| Design & Technology | 69 | 10% | 33% | 49% | |
| Art and Design | 57 | 2% | 33% | 56% | |
| Physical Education | 46 | 9% | 57% | 70% | |
| Biology | 29 | 28% | 90% | 97% | |
| Physics | 28 | 29% | 79% | 96% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Studies | 25 | 4% | 8% | 20% | |
| English Literature | 21 | 0% | 10% | 52% | |
| Psychology | 20 | 5% | 5% | 10% | |
| Geography | 17 | 0% | 0% | 18% | |
| Sociology | 17 | 6% | 12% | 47% | |
| Film Studies | 17 | 6% | 18% | 53% | |
| Biology | 14 | 0% | 21% | 36% | |
| Mathematics | 14 | 7% | 7% | 36% | |
| Photography | 13 | 0% | 15% | 62% | |
| History | 9 | 0% | 22% | 33% | |
| Computer Science | 8 | 13% | 25% | 25% | |
| Drama and Theatre Studies | 8 | 0% | 0% | 50% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
No Cambridge offers this year
UCAS apply centre 14935: Charles Darwin Secondary School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | 0 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | 0 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 46% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 2% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 48% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Bromley council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.