Bennett Memorial Diocesan School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Kent
Culverden Down, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9SH
80
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Outstanding
Graded 13/12/2023
Application demand
81%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
94.9%
12.0% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,913
Capacity used
Over capacity132%
1,452 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
81%
1st preference success rate
261 of 321 families who put it first got an offer
293
Places offered
1098
Total applications
3.7
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 321 | 261 | ● 81% |
| 2nd preference | 265 | 25 | ● 9% |
| 3rd preference | 271 | 6 | ● 2% |
| 4th preference | 241 | 1 | ● 0% |
| Total | 1098 | 293 | 27% |
1st preference success by year
Kent lets families list 4 preferences. 82 applications came from outside the council area (35 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
- Church of England
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Karen Brookes
- Address
- Culverden Down, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9SH
- Phone
- 01892521595
- Local authority
- Kent
- Ward / constituency
- Culverden · Tunbridge Wells
- Area
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 136603
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 11% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 10% | — | — |
| SEN support | 8% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THE TENAX SCHOOLS TRUST
1,913 pupils · 1,452 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
13 December 2023
Full graded inspection
Outstanding overall effectivenessSixth form Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Quality of education Outstanding Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,529 pupils
Attendance
94.9%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
5.1%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
12.0%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
1.8%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.1%
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 | 56.0 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.73 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 61% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 84% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 5.34 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 34.22 | — | — |
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 | 54 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 57.8% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 84.5% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 88.9% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.14 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 296 | — |
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 | 36.15 | 35 |
| Average grade | B- | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 13.8% | 17% |
| A-level students | 183 | — |
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 | 294 | 25% | 70% | 89% | |
| English Language | 294 | 18% | 63% | 85% | |
| Religious Studies | 291 | 23% | 63% | 74% | |
| English Literature | 291 | 16% | 63% | 86% | |
| Chemistry | 273 | 24% | 64% | 86% | |
| Physics | 247 | 24% | 71% | 87% | |
| Biology | 235 | 19% | 65% | 87% | |
| Geography | 193 | 27% | 70% | 83% | |
| French | 139 | 22% | 62% | 75% | |
| German | 121 | 10% | 40% | 63% | |
| History | 111 | 32% | 62% | 74% | |
| Art and Design | 103 | 49% | 93% | 98% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 48 | 15% | 38% | 75% | |
| Biology | 47 | 4% | 26% | 55% | |
| Mathematics | 46 | 7% | 33% | 59% | |
| English Literature | 41 | 0% | 12% | 51% | |
| History | 39 | 3% | 21% | 64% | |
| Media / Film / TV Studies | 37 | 5% | 30% | 68% | |
| Geography | 36 | 3% | 17% | 42% | |
| English Language | 31 | 0% | 3% | 16% | |
| Chemistry | 30 | 3% | 33% | 57% | |
| Physics | 21 | 10% | 38% | 57% | |
| Religious Studies | 16 | 6% | 13% | 56% | |
| Design and Technology (Product Design) | 14 | 14% | 21% | 43% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 15216: Bennett Memorial Diocesan School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | ≤5 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | ≤5 |
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) | 58% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 4% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 61% | — | — |
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 Kent 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.