The Discovery School

Tonbridge and Malling · ME19 4GJ

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 634 pupils, 8.2% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Outstanding

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 9.8% on SEN support Behaviour 5.4% absence rate Staff 10% turnover Financials £6,088 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Discovery School

General Information

Address: Discovery Drive, Kings Hill, West Malling, ME19 4GJ – View on map
Phone: 01732847000
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Tina Gobell
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 77 families put it first for 90 places – 9 for every 10 places. 97% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 7 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

634 pupils out of 630 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 52
% eligible for free school meals: 8.2%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (more mixed than the Tonbridge and Malling average)
English as an additional language: 5% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 10% a year (Tonbridge and Malling 17.3%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 47% moved to another school, 53% 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 Kent: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 21 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 32 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Kent (the council area this school is in), 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: 5.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 13.0%
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: 9.8%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Other difficulty or disability: 16 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 13 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 12 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Other difficulty or disability: 3 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 1 pupil

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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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Outstanding 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.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 80% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 18% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 15 percentage points above the Tonbridge and Malling average (65%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 74% against an expected 69%)
3-year average (expected standard): 74%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 91% · Writing 84% · Maths 89% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 89%
Average test scores: reading 110, maths 108
Based on: 95 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

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

SATs results over time

This schoolTonbridge and Malling averageEngland↗ Improving Up 13 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 15 percentage points above the Tonbridge and Malling average (65%).

Year 6 SATs: 9th of 42 junior and primary schools in the area

=6Mereworth Community Primary School81%
=6Valley Invicta Primary School at Holborough Lakes81%
#9The Discovery School80%
#10Lift St James the Great79%
#11Valley Invicta Primary School At Leybourne Chase76%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Valley Invicta Primary School At Kings Hill90%
=2Shipbourne School86%
=2St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School86%
=4Plaxtol Primary School85%
=4Sussex Road Community Primary School85%
=6Leybourne, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy81%
=6Mereworth Community Primary School81%
=6Valley Invicta Primary School at Holborough Lakes81%
#9The Discovery School80%
#10Lift St James the Great79%
#11Valley Invicta Primary School At Leybourne Chase76%
#12Hildenborough Church of England Primary School75%
#13Woodlands Primary School74%
=14Royal Rise Primary School73%
=14Ryarsh Primary School73%
=16More Park Catholic Primary School72%
=16St Peter's Church of England Primary School72%
=18Burham Church of England Primary School70%
=18Valley Invicta Primary School At Aylesford70%
#20Trottiscliffe Church of England Primary School67%
#21Wateringbury Church of England Primary School66%
#22Bishop Chavasse Primary School65%
#23Slade Primary School and Attached Unit for Children with Hearing Impairment64%
=24Brookfield Junior School63%
=24Kings Hill School Primary and Nursery63%
#26Snodland CofE Primary School61%
#27West Malling Church of England Primary School and McGinty Speech and Language Srp60%
=28East Peckham Primary School59%
=28Offham Primary School59%
=30Cage Green Primary School57%
=30Tunbury Primary School57%
=32St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles56%
=32Stocks Green Primary School56%
#34St Katherine's School & Nursery53%
#35St George's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School50%
#36Wouldham, All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School49%
#37Long Mead Community Primary School47%
=38Ditton Church of England Junior School44%
=38Platt Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School44%
#40Hadlow Primary School38%
#41Lunsford Primary School35%
#42Borough Green Primary School30%

View full Ofsted inspection report

3rd of 33 primary schools in Tonbridge and Malling for Ofsted rating

#1Ightham Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Kings Hill School Primary and NurseryOutstanding
#3The Discovery SchoolOutstanding
#4Valley Invicta Primary School At AylesfordOutstanding
#5Bishop Chavasse Primary 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

#1Ightham Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Kings Hill School Primary and NurseryOutstanding
#3The Discovery SchoolOutstanding
#4Valley Invicta Primary School At AylesfordOutstanding
#5Bishop Chavasse Primary SchoolGood
#6Borough Green Primary SchoolGood
#7Burham Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#8Cage Green Primary SchoolGood
#9Hadlow Primary SchoolGood
#10Hildenborough Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#11Lift St James the GreatGood
#12Lunsford Primary SchoolGood
#13Mereworth Community Primary SchoolGood
#14More Park Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#15Platt Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolGood
#16Plaxtol Primary SchoolGood
#17Ryarsh Primary SchoolGood
#18Shipbourne SchoolGood
#19Slade Primary School and Attached Unit for Children with Hearing ImpairmentGood
#20Snodland CofE Primary SchoolGood
#21St George's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolGood
#22St Katherine's School & NurseryGood
#23St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#24St Mark's Church of England Primary School, EcclesGood
#25Stocks Green Primary SchoolGood
#26Trottiscliffe Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#27Tunbury Primary SchoolGood
#28Valley Invicta Primary School At Kings HillGood
#29Valley Invicta Primary School At Leybourne ChaseGood
#30Valley Invicta Primary School at Holborough LakesGood
#31West Malling Church of England Primary School and McGinty Speech and Language SrpGood
#32Woodlands Primary SchoolGood
#33Wouldham, All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,088 (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.

28th of 41 primary schools in Tonbridge and Malling for spending per pupil

#26Snodland CofE Primary School£6,232
#27Hildenborough Church of England Primary School£6,161
#28The Discovery School£6,088
#29Kings Hill School Primary and Nursery£6,045
#30More Park Catholic Primary School£6,039

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

#1Shipbourne School£10,075
#2Borough Green Primary School£9,896
#3Plaxtol Primary School£9,128
#4Long Mead Community Primary School£9,114
#5West Malling Church of England Primary School and McGinty Speech and Language Srp£8,356
#6Cage Green Primary School£8,280
#7Lift St James the Great£7,866
#8St Mark's Church of England Primary School, Eccles£7,489
#9Trottiscliffe Church of England Primary School£7,477
#10Hadlow Primary School£7,358
#11Platt Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£7,284
#12Mereworth Community Primary School£7,127
#13Offham Primary School£7,035
#14Ryarsh Primary School£7,031
#15Slade Primary School and Attached Unit for Children with Hearing Impairment£6,946
#16Wouldham, All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£6,873
#17Wateringbury Church of England Primary School£6,857
#18Valley Invicta Primary School at Holborough Lakes£6,856
#19Valley Invicta Primary School At Kings Hill£6,840
#20St George's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£6,409
#21Woodlands Primary School£6,395
#22Stocks Green Primary School£6,352
#23Valley Invicta Primary School At Leybourne Chase£6,348
#24St Peter's Church of England Primary School£6,316
#25Lunsford Primary School£6,255
#26Snodland CofE Primary School£6,232
#27Hildenborough Church of England Primary School£6,161
#28The Discovery School£6,088
#29Kings Hill School Primary and Nursery£6,045
#30More Park Catholic Primary School£6,039
#31Burham Church of England Primary School£6,035
#32St Katherine's School & Nursery£6,024
#33East Peckham Primary School£6,015
#34Bishop Chavasse Primary School£5,983
#35Tunbury Primary School£5,851
#36Royal Rise Primary School£5,660
#37Leybourne, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy£5,659
#38Sussex Road Community Primary School£5,629
#39St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School£5,496
#40Valley Invicta Primary School At Aylesford£5,311
#41Ightham Primary School£3,943

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

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