Charles Darwin School

Bromley · TN16 3AU

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1305 pupils, 23.5% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 23.5% on SEN support Behaviour 10.4% absence rate Staff 12.5% turnover Financials £7,993 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Charles Darwin School

General Information

Address: Jail Lane, Biggin Hill, Westerham, TN16 3AU – View on map
Phone: 01959574043
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Aston Smith
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 193 families put it first for 234 places – 8 for every 10 places. 94% of them were offered a place. 56 of the 234 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 8 · 2025 7 · 2026 8
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1305 pupils out of 1356 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 259
% eligible for free school meals: 23.5%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (less mixed than the Bromley average)
English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 12.5% a year (Bromley 17.4%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 53% moved to another school, 47% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Bromley: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 25 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 30 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 12 (0.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Bromley, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 10.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 30.6%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 23.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 110 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 81 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 38 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 28 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 27 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 9 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Vision impairment: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 38.9
Compared with the area: 12.8 points below the Bromley average (51.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−5.9 points against an expected 44.8)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 51% (Bromley 74%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolBromley averageEngland↘ Falling Down 6.6 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 12.8 points below the Bromley average (51.7).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

17th of 19 secondary schools in Bromley for Attainment 8

#15The Ravensbourne School45.0
#16Harris Academy Orpington42.7
#17Charles Darwin School38.9
#18Bishop Justus CofE School37.8
#19Kemnal Technology College29.3

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School83.6
#2Newstead Wood School82.8
#3Harris Girls Academy Bromley58.3
#4Bullers Wood School56.3
#5Langley Park School for Girls55.8
#6Hayes School54.8
#7Langley Park School for Boys54.4
#8Harris Academy Beckenham51.6
#9Darrick Wood School51.5
#10Chislehurst School for Girls50.3
#11Bullers Wood School for Boys49.0
#12Orion Coopers48.5
#13Ravens Wood School48.1
#14Orion Eden Park45.5
#15The Ravensbourne School45.0
#16Harris Academy Orpington42.7
#17Charles Darwin School38.9
#18Bishop Justus CofE School37.8
#19Kemnal Technology College29.3

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 93.0%
Went into further education: 88.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
History
Business Studies
Geography
D & T
Art & Design
Sports Studies
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
French Language
German
Computer Science
Sociology
Media Studies
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Dance: General
Polish
Religious Studies

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

8th of 16 secondary schools in Bromley for Ofsted rating

#6Bullers Wood SchoolGood
#7Bullers Wood School for BoysGood
#8Charles Darwin SchoolGood
#9Chislehurst School for GirlsGood
#10Darrick Wood SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Harris Academy BeckenhamOutstanding
#2Harris Girls Academy BromleyOutstanding
#3Hayes SchoolOutstanding
#4Newstead Wood SchoolOutstanding
#5Bishop Justus CofE SchoolGood
#6Bullers Wood SchoolGood
#7Bullers Wood School for BoysGood
#8Charles Darwin SchoolGood
#9Chislehurst School for GirlsGood
#10Darrick Wood SchoolGood
#11Harris Academy OrpingtonGood
#12Langley Park School for BoysGood
#13Langley Park School for GirlsGood
#14Orion CoopersGood
#15Ravens Wood SchoolGood
#16The Ravensbourne SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,993 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

8th of 19 secondary schools in Bromley for spending per pupil

#6Bullers Wood School for Boys£8,185
#7Langley Park School for Boys£8,149
#8Charles Darwin School£7,993
#9Ravens Wood School£7,974
#10Harris Girls Academy Bromley£7,918

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Harris Academy Orpington£11,970
#2Kemnal Technology College£9,743
#3Bishop Justus CofE School£9,442
#4Hayes School£8,372
#5Newstead Wood School£8,189
#6Bullers Wood School for Boys£8,185
#7Langley Park School for Boys£8,149
#8Charles Darwin School£7,993
#9Ravens Wood School£7,974
#10Harris Girls Academy Bromley£7,918
#11Orion Eden Park£7,766
#12Harris Academy Beckenham£7,764
#13Orion Coopers£7,556
#14Bullers Wood School£7,462
#15The Ravensbourne School£7,393
#16St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School£7,361
#17Langley Park School for Girls£7,298
#18Chislehurst School for Girls£7,163
#19Darrick Wood School£3,322

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Bromley: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered