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School profile

Bennett Memorial Diocesan School

Culverden Down, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9SH

State-funded
Secondary
Ages 11–18
Mixed
Sixth form

Overview

Bennett Memorial Diocesan School is a state-funded school (academy converter) in Tunbridge Wells, South East, for pupils aged 11–18. This summary is generated only from official structured fields.

School details

Official establishment type
Academy converter
Establishment group
Academies
Phase of education
Secondary
Age range
Ages 11–18
Gender of entry
Mixed
Boarding
No boarders
Sixth form
Yes
Religious character
Church of England
School capacity
1,452
Pupils on roll
1,913
URN
136603

Admissions

Admissions policy
Non-selective
Local authority
Kent
Academy trust or group
THE TENAX SCHOOLS TRUST

Contact the school or your local authority for catchment and application deadlines.

School places

DfE school capacity survey · May 2025 (2024/25)

Capacity at survey date
1,958
Pupils on roll
1,886
Unfilled places at survey date
72

A dated snapshot from the Department for Education school capacity survey, separate from the school details above. Unfilled places at the survey date do not mean places are currently available for admission. About this data

Official admissions data

Applications & demand

Preferences expressed by families through coordinated admissions, shown over time.

2026/27 admissions · Year 7

First preferences
384

Times the school was named as a family's first preference.

Total preferences
1,134

All recorded preference positions for this school.

Offers made
293

Offers recorded through coordinated admissions, not physical capacity.

First preferences compared with offers

1.31 first preferences per offer

384 first preferences and 293 offers were recorded for 2026/27.

What does this mean?

This is the Department for Education's own published comparison of first preferences with total offers recorded. It indicates the level of requests made through coordinated admissions. Offers are not necessarily the school's maximum capacity, admissions arrangements vary between local authorities, the figure is not a measure of school quality, and it should not be used on its own to judge the likelihood of gaining a place.

First preferences over time

Latest five available admissions years. Missing years are not estimated.

Admissions history

Admissions yearFirst preferencesTotal preferencesOffers made
2026/273841,134293
2025/263211,098293
2024/25282955292
2023/243491,028287
2022/23327964295

Source: Department for Education · Applications and offers data.

Official performance data

School performance

Official Department for Education results for this school. Results are shown for the academic year they relate to.

2024/25 results

  • Attainment 8 score

    School
    54
    England
    47.1

    Pupils included: 296

  • Grade 5 or above in English & maths

    School
    57.8%
    England
    46.5%

    Pupils included: 296

  • Grade 4 or above in English & maths

    School
    84.5%
    England
    66.4%

    Pupils included: 296

  • Entering the EBacc

    School
    88.9%
    England
    41.5%

    Pupils included: 296

Progress 8 was not published for 2024/25.

Source: Department for Education · School performance data.

Official inspection data

Ofsted inspections

Inspection information published by Ofsted, shown in Ofsted's own words.

Ofsted inspection

Inspected 13 December 2023 · Published 30 January 2024

Original education inspection framework (September 2019 to August 2024)

Overall effectiveness

Outstanding

This is a historical Ofsted judgement given under the previous inspection framework. It is not a School Nest rating.

Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Outstanding
Safeguarding was effective
Yes
Sixth form provision (where applicable)
Outstanding

View on Ofsted(opens in a new tab)

Ofsted changed how it inspects and reports on schools in November 2025. Judgements from the previous and current frameworks use different systems and should not be directly compared.

School Nest shows the inspection information Ofsted currently publishes for this school. It is not a complete record of every inspection the school has ever had.

Source: Ofsted · Inspections and outcomes. Official Ofsted page for this school

Location

Address
Culverden Down, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9SH
Local authority
Kent

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