Dartford Grammar School for Girls

Dartford, DA1 2NT · Kent · Grammar school

Ofsted: Outstanding · 2016 ★ Selective Girls Secondary
OfstedOutstanding
Pupils1248
FSM22.3%
Progress 8+0.82
A-level avgB
Qualifying score332.0 2026
Test boardConsortium: Kent Grammar School Consortium. No fixed score — rank-ordered; grammar schools take ~top 25% of ability range
AI summary of the Ofsted report Inspected 2026-03-17 · Tap to collapse

Generated by AI from the official inspection report — not written by Ofsted or SchoolsGPT staff. Always read the full Ofsted PDF before relying on this summary.

Overview: Dartford Grammar School for Girls is an exceptional school where pupils achieve extraordinarily well, producing high-quality work that demonstrates their deep-rooted understanding of the broad curriculum. The school's high standards are reflected in consistently excellent examination outcomes, with attainment and progress measures at the end of Year 11 and Year 13 being very high.

Strengths:

  • Pupils achieve extraordinarily well, producing high-quality work that demonstrates their deep-rooted understanding of the broad curriculum.
  • The school's high standards are reflected in consistently excellent examination outcomes, with attainment and progress measures at the end of Year 11 and Year 13 being very high.
  • Pupils' attendance and punctuality are extremely high, with forensic monitoring used particularly well to identify and address the small number of instances where improvements could be made.
  • Extremely high standards of conduct, self-control, and respect are evident throughout, with pupils' behaviour being exemplary, both during lessons and as they move purposefully around the school.
  • Provision for pupils' personal development is impressive, giving pupils the skills, knowledge, and attributes to navigate the world with integrity, sensitivity, and compassion.

Areas to improve:

  • The wealth of information held by leaders could be used even more precisely to inform future decision-making on a whole-school level.
  • The school should refine and sustain recent work to further develop responsive teaching, so that all pupils benefit fully from the swift use of strategies that address emerging misconceptions in lessons.

Safeguarding: The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfilling their specific responsibilities and having established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon, and managed.

Catchment / designated area

Children living in the school's designated area or linked primary school catchment

Source: LA admission policy PDF

Ofsted judgement breakdown (2016-06-21)

Overall effectiveness
Outstanding
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Outstanding
Safeguarding is effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision (where applicable)
Outstanding

Ofsted report card (17/03/2026)

Under Ofsted's report-card framework (introduced November 2025), schools no longer receive a single overall grade — each area below is judged separately.

Safeguarding Standards
Met
Inclusion
Strong standard
Curriculum And Teaching
Strong standard
Achievement
Exceptional
Attendance And Behaviour
Exceptional
Personal Development
Exceptional
Post 16
Exceptional
Leadership And Governance
Strong standard

Oversubscription criteria

  1. Looked after — Looked after children and previously looked after children
  2. Medical social — Children with exceptional medical/social needs, supported by professional evidence
  3. Catchment or linked — Children living in the school's designated area or linked primary school catchment
  4. Sibling — Siblings of children on roll at the school
  5. Other qualified — All other qualifying children — tiebreaker: distance (straight line, closest first)

What the entrance test covers

The Kent Test has two multiple-choice papers, each roughly an hour long: 1. English & Maths — split into two 30-minute sections: English (reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary) and Maths (Key Stage 2 curriculum up to the start of Year 6). 2. Reasoning — Verbal Reasoning (vocabulary, sequences, logic, analogies) and Non-Verbal/Spatial Reasoning (shapes, rotations, matrices, pattern recognition), combined into a single reasoning score. There is also an unmarked writing task (around 40 minutes including planning time). It isn't scored directly, but may be used by a local headteacher assessment panel for borderline cases. Note: the Kent Test is NOT the same as the Medway Test — Medway is a separate authority with its own different test (separate registration, different papers). Passing one does not qualify a child for the other area's schools (except Chatham Grammar, which accepts either).

University destinations

Oxbridge
0%
Russell Group
36%
Top-third university
41%
Any degree
87%

Of the 149-student 2019/20 leaver cohort, sustaining a higher-education destination the following year. This is the last cohort the Department for Education published with an Oxbridge/Russell Group breakdown — these categories were discontinued as official accountability measures after this release, so a more recent figure does not exist.

House prices nearby

Median price, West Hill ward (Year ending Mar 2023)
£375,000

Median price for the school's electoral ward, year ending March 2023 — a neighbourhood-level indicator, not the school's actual admissions catchment (catchments are often smaller than a ward or span parts of several).

Similar schools nearby

Same area, prioritising the same phase — useful for shortlisting alternatives.

Data sourced from GIAS, Ofsted and official Kent admissions publications. Figures can change year to year — always confirm with the school before applying.

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