Highsted Grammar School

Academy converter·Secondary school Sittingbourne, Kent·ME10 4PT
Composite score
76.4
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#228
National rank
#66
In South East
#30
In Kent
Top 7%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
61.1
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
82%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
94%
% EBacc grade 5+
52%
EBacc average points score
5.88

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
78%
139 first choices, 109 places
First choices per place
1.27
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
336
any preference, for 109 places
Applications from another council area
2%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.01
00.511.5
1 per place
1.2020221.2520231.2220241.2920251.272026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Kent does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Year 7 place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for Highsted Grammar School. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–18
Pupils on roll
832
Gender
Girls
Admissions
Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
12.5%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
8.2%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
4.3%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
0.5%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.1%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
13.1%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.1
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£6,466
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
98%
143 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
97%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
0%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

Highsted Grammar School at a glance

Located in Sittingbourne, Kent, Highsted Grammar School is a girls' secondary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. The school educates roughly 832 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 61.1 — well above the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 0.5 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 7% of secondary schools in England.

82% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 94% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Highsted Grammar School is oversubscribed: about 8 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 139 first choices for 109 places. After Year 11, 98% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 6.1%. There are about 17.1 pupils per teacher. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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