Leigh Academy Snowfields
Leigh Academy Snowfields is a special free school in Maidstone for boys and girls aged 11 to 18. It has 355 pupils and room for 396. About 33 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2023.
Popesfield Way, Weavering, Maidstone, ME14 5GA01622 250050leighacademysnowfields.org.ukMrs Laura Smith headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 27 June 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
45 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 45 | 19 | 21 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 16.5 | 17.1 | 14.4 | 47.8 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -1.70 | -2.47 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 4% | 5% | 0% | 48% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 9% | 26% | 10% | 67% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 1.40 | 1.45 | 1.25 | 4.28 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | 48% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 15.7 | 14.4 | 11.1 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 17.1 | 19.1 | 17.5 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 9.0 | 14.3 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 6 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Art and Design (7% here, 58% across England), English Language (8% here, 54% across England), English Literature (12% here, 58% across England), Mathematics (11% here, 53% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combined Science | 41 | 0% | 12% | 27% | 36% | – |
| English Language | 38 | 0% | 8% | 21% | 54% | – |
| Mathematics | 36 | 0% | 11% | 19% | 53% | – |
| English Literature | 17 | 0% | 12% | 47% | 58% | – |
| Art and Design | 15 | 0% | 7% | 20% | 58% | – |
| Statistics | 9 | 0% | 22% | 56% | 51% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 3 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Kent council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Kent with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (328), emotional and mental health (11), language and communications needs (10), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Other difficulty or disability (2), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 355 | 303 | 232 | 175 | 85 | 46 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 33% | 35% | 34% | 34% | 29% | 35% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 82.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 17.4% | 15.8% | 17.3% | 18.2% | 9.4% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 12.1% | 12.6% | 13.5% | 17.3% | 8.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 5.2% | 3.3% | 3.8% | 0.8% | 1.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 39.9% | 40.9% | 47.5% | 45.8% | 31.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 24.4 | 15.1 | 21.7 | 23.5 | 4.4 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 21 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 90%, compared with 91% for everyone else.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leigh Academy Bearsted | Free school | 0 m | 412 | Outstanding 2023 | 82 | Compare |
| Maidstone, St John's Church of England Primary School | Academy | 0.6 miles | 437 | No overall grade 2025 | 98 | Compare |
| Roseacre Junior School | Foundation | 0.8 miles | 424 | Good 2024 | 79 | Compare |
| Thurnham Church of England Infant School | Church of England | 0.8 miles | 254 | Good 2023 | 63 | Compare |
| School of Science and Technology Maidstone | Free school | 0.9 miles | 1,056 | Outstanding 2023 | 63 | Compare |
| Valley Park School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 1,555 | No overall grade 2025 | 20 | Compare |
| Invicta Grammar School | Academy (grammar) | 1.1 miles | 1,670 | Outstanding 2024 | 98 | Compare |
| Valley Invicta Primary School At East Borough | Academy | 1.2 miles | 445 | Report card 2026 | 93 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Leigh Academy Snowfields a good school?
Leigh Academy Snowfields doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in June 2023.
What is Leigh Academy Snowfields's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Leigh Academy Snowfields outstanding at its last full inspection on 27 June 2023.
How good are Leigh Academy Snowfields's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 4% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 16.5, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Leigh Academy Snowfields have?
355 pupils aged 11 to 18 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 396 places, so it is 90% full.
What is attendance like at Leigh Academy Snowfields?
Pupils were in school 82.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 40% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Leigh Academy Snowfields have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Leigh Academy Snowfields have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Popesfield Way, Weavering, Maidstone, ME14 5GA
- Telephone
- 01622 250050
- Website
- leighacademysnowfields.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Laura Smith
- Type of school
- Special free school (Free schools special, free schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 11-18, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Leigh Academies Trust (33 schools)
- Local authority
- Kent
- Ward
- Grove Green & Vinters Park
- Constituency
- Faversham and Mid Kent
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2020 (new provision)
- URN
- 147870 · LAESTAB 8867006 · UKPRN 10086461
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.