The Skinners' School

The Skinners' School consistently demonstrates strong performance across various domains, including achievement, attendance, and personal development. Pupils, including disadvantaged learners and those with special educational needs, achieve well above national averages in their examinations, reflecting high aspirations set by leaders. The school's supportive culture and engaging environment contribute to pupils feeling safe and motivated, while the ambitious curriculum is tailored to meet the diverse needs of all students. The leadership team is dedicated to continuous improvement, ensuring that both academic and personal development are integral to the school ethos.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve very well across the curriculum.
• Disadvantaged and SEND pupils perform effectively.
• High quality of work produced by pupils at key stage 3.
• Pupils demonstrate a strong understanding of technical vocabulary.
• Consistent above-average attendance rates.
• A culture of kindness and mutual respect among students.
• Ambitious curriculum designed to meet the needs of all pupils.
• Effective teaching practices with expert subject knowledge.
• Strong personal development and wellbeing programmes.
• Ambitious and well-structured post-16 provision.

Areas for Improvement

• Need to strengthen approach to identify barriers for some disadvantaged pupils.
• Monitoring of individual support for disadvantaged pupils is less precise.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Skinners' School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 5.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.1% of pupils at The Skinners' School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 The Skinners' School had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 7.0% of pupils at The Skinners' School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Skinners' School received £6,780 and spent £7,027 for each of its 1,157 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £455,000 (£394 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Skinners' Academies Trust, income was £8,679 and spending £8,730 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Tunbridge Wells · Kent local authority: places and applications

The Skinners' School is part of Skinners' Academies Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Skinners' Temple Grove Tunbridge Wells
• Skinners' Kent Academy Tunbridge Wells
• Skinners' Kent Primary School Tunbridge Wells
• The Marsh Academy New Romney
• Skinners' Academy London

What is The Skinners' School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Skinners' School is Expected standard, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was The Skinners' School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Skinners' School was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does The Skinners' School have?

The Skinners' School has 1,149 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Skinners' School cover?

The Skinners' School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Skinners' School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 72.7, and 97% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Skinners' School?

The Skinners' School is at St John's Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9PG.