Leigh Academy Mascalls

About Leigh Academy Mascalls

Leigh Academy Mascalls, a large mixed secondary school in Tunbridge Wells, was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2021, a grade it has held consistently across both its graded inspections. The school’s most informative exam metric is its Progress 8 score of -0.17, which places pupils slightly below the national average. This score is also a touch below the Kent local authority average of -0.13, indicating that students’ academic progress from Key Stage 2 to GCSEs is marginally behind what is typical for the area. The school’s Attainment 8 score sits at 41.5, and just over half of pupils (56.6%) achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, though this drops to 34.2% for the stronger grade 5 benchmark. Only 15.8% of pupils entered the English Baccalaureate, a relatively low uptake compared to many local schools.

At Key Stage 5, the sixth form offers a solid but unspectacular picture. With a value-added score of -0.06, students’ progress at A-level is broadly in line with expectations, and the average points per entry of 29.77 equates to a grade C. The best three A-levels average out at a grade C as well, with 30.85 points. Just 3.9% of entries achieved AAB or higher, which is low. Nationally, the school ranks in the bottom 50% for Progress 8, sitting at the 62nd percentile, and within the South East it ranks 293rd out of 461 schools. In Tunbridge Wells, it is ranked 5th out of 5 schools, placing it at the bottom of the local league table for Progress 8. The school’s Progress 8 banding is classified as ‘Average’, and its confidence intervals suggest the score is not significantly different from the national average.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 501 applications for 231 places, a ratio of 2.17 applicants per place, with 173 first-preference offers made. Facilities are strong and include a swimming pool, theatre, sports hall, astro turf, tennis courts, and a dedicated sixth form centre. The school offers a wide range of sports including rowing, rugby, and hockey, plus clubs like the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Young Enterprise, and a newspaper club. SEND provisions cover eight categories, including autistic spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and speech and language needs. This is a school that suits families who value a broad extracurricular offer and a large, well-equipped campus, but who are realistic about academic outcomes that are slightly below the local average. The sixth form provides a solid continuation for students already at the school, though its A-level results are modest.

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