Oakwood Park Grammar School in Maidstone to get 30 extra places in £7.3m expansion

Families in Maidstone and Malling seeking grammar school places for their sons will have more options from 2027, after Kent County Council approved a hefty expansion of Oakwood Park Grammar School. The annual Year 7 intake rises from 160 to 190 pupils, with building work delivering three new classrooms, a science classroom extension, and a new three-court sports hall.

The £7.3 million scheme was signed off by Cllr Beverley Fordham, the council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills. She said the expansion is needed to meet rising demand, create more opportunities for local boys, and provide an “excellent environment” through improved classrooms and sports facilities. Funding comes through the council’s Basic Need Capital Programme — a pot drawing on government grants, council capital funding, and developer contributions tied to new housing — with more than £400,000 of the total coming from those developer contributions.

The council’s reasoning is blunt. Oakwood Park has no spare Year 7 places. None. Forecasts show demand for selective places across Maidstone and Malling will keep climbing as the area’s population grows and new homes go up.

But there’s a second factor. Since Maidstone Grammar School for Girls expanded in 2023, the split of Year 7 grammar places in the borough has drifted — around 55% now go to girls, 45% to boys. The extra 30 annual places at Oakwood Park are intended to nudge that back towards something more even. Which seems only fair.

The project was identified through Kent County Council’s Commissioning Plan for Education Provision, the council’s rolling forward plan for where new school places are needed and when, specifically because of forecast demand in the Maidstone and Malling area.

What happens next: Oakwood Park Grammar School’s expanded intake of 190 pupils per year is due to begin from September 2027.