OFSTED
21 January 2025
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy sponsor led
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Kent
Trust
THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
780
780 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
410
52.6% of pupils
Male pupils
370
47.4% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
21.6 pts
above England
School
46.4%
Dover
32.6%
South East
19.0%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
18.8 pts
below England
School
1.5%
Dover
8.4%
South East
15.6%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
3.0 pts
above England
School
4.0%
Dover
4.5%
South East
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
91.7%
715
Any other White background
2.2%
17
Unclassified
2.1%
16
African
0.9%
7
Any other Mixed background
0.6%
5
Any other Asian background
0.5%
4
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
20.1%
157 of
780 pupils
0.7 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
0.3 pts
above
England
6.0%
1.0 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
30.5
8.7 pts
below England
Latest published: -0.80 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
14.03%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
7.81 pts
higher than
England
School
14.03%
Dover
7.45%
South East
6.30%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
43.38%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
27.56 pts
higher than
England
School
43.38%
Dover
20.75%
South East
15.75%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
8.83%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
7.02 pts
higher than
England
School
8.83%
Dover
2.25%
South East
1.93%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
67.8%
24.5 pts
below England
Goodwin Academy
67.8%
Dover
96.8%
South East
95.0%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.