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Kensington Aldridge Academy

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What is included in the Kensington Aldridge Academy review?

Academic results & facilities
Up to date results for GCSEs, A levels, BTECs and IB; we go to places league tables can’t reach.

Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline
From how the school reacts when something goes wrong to how they tackle thorny issues like substance abuse, consent and mental health. We check they’ve got it all covered.

Information about the head
Our unparalleled access to the head teacher means we can tell you exactly what to expect when you meet them – from leadership style right down to the décor of their study and what they’re currently reading.

Teaching and learning approaches
Detailed info on teaching styles and stand-out subjects. We observe the lessons you’ll never see on an open day.

Entrance & admissions information

Exit information - where do the children go next?

Learning support & SEN information

Arts, sports and extracurricular

Pupils & parents (what are they really like?)

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What says..

Lessons are pin-drop quiet, teachers emphatically in charge of classes (maximum 30, average 22 with a full-time equivalent teacher to pupil ratio of 1 to 11). Teachers welcome challenges, eg ‘Your idea of mass being conserved wasn’t really shown,’ a year 8 pupil tells chemistry teacher...

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  • Kensington Aldridge Academy
    Kensington Aldridge Academy
    1 Silchester Road
    London
    W10 6EX
  • Head: Anna Jordan
  • T 0207 313 5800
  • E info@kaa.org.uk
  • W www.kaa.org.uk
  • Kensington Aldridge Academy is a state school for boys and girls aged from 11 to 18 in London. Interested in reading more? Read our honest and unbiased Kensington Aldridge Academy review.
  • Boarding: No
  • Local authority: Kensington & Chelsea
  • Pupils: 1,265; sixth formers: 264
  • Religion: None
  • Open days: Autumn term annually - see website for details
  • Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
  • Ofsted:
    • Latest Overall effectiveness Outstanding 1
      • 16-19 study programmes Outstanding 1
      • Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding 1
    • 1 Full inspection 12th December 2017
  • Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report

What the school says...

Kensington Aldridge Academy (KAA) is an 11 – 18 academy situated in the heart of Notting Hill. The academy opened in brand new buildings in September 2014 with just Year 7, and since then have grown into a full school with over 1,250 students.

KAA is a high performing academy with a strong local and national profile. In December 2017 Ofsted graded the school “outstanding” in all areas and described standards as “exceptional”. In 2018 TES named KAA Secondary School of the Year. ...Read more

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Other features

Performing arts specialist school

Sports

Rowing

Since November 2023, Anna Jordan, previously vice principal.

Admits 210 pupils in year 7, with 21 places awarded to pupils with performing arts aptitude. Of these, 10 qualify for the pupil premium (reflecting wider school population). Normally about three applicants per place, large number of sibling places, most allocated by distance. Offers 120 places in year 12, with eight grade 5s needed at GCSE (including English and maths) and 6s in chosen A level subjects (7s for maths, further maths, science and economics).

Admissions to autism resource provision (and for all others with EHCPs) through local authority.

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Please note: Independent schools frequently offer IGCSEs or other qualifications alongside or as an alternative to GCSE. The DfE does not record performance data for these exams so independent school GCSE data is frequently misleading; parents should check the results with the schools.

Special Education Needs

Condition Provision for in school
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder Y
Aspergers Y
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders
CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia
Dyscalculia
Dysgraphia
Dyslexia
Dyspraxia
English as an additional language (EAL)
Genetic
Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory
Has SEN unit or class
HI - Hearing Impairment
Hospital School
Mental health
MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment
Natspec Specialist Colleges
OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability
Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty
PD - Physical Disability
PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
Special facilities for Visually Impaired
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty
VI - Visual Impairment

Interpreting catchment maps

The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.

Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.

For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained

Further reading

If there are more applicants to a school than it has places for, who gets in is determined by which applicants best fulfil the admissions criteria.

Admissions criteria are often complicated, and may change from year to year. The best source of information is usually the relevant local authority website, but once you have set your sights on a school it is a good idea to ask them how they see things panning out for the year that you are interested in.

Many schools admit children based on distance from the school or a fixed catchment area. For such schools, the cut-off distance will vary from year to year, especially if the school give priority to siblings, and the pattern will be of a central core with outliers (who will mostly be siblings). Schools that admit on the basis of academic or religious selection will have a much more scattered pattern.

*The coloured areas outlined in black are Census Output Areas. These are made up of a group of neighbouring postcodes, which accounts for their odd shapes. These provide an indication, but not a precise map, of the school’s catchment: always refer to local authority and school websites for precise information.

The 'hotter' the colour the more children have been admitted.

Children get into the school from here:

regularly
most years
quite often
infrequently
sometimes, but not in this year


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