Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School
Old Dover Road, Canterbury, CT1 3EW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- None
- Head of School
- Mr Paul Pollard
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Constituency
- Canterbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,082
- Pupils on roll
- 1,258
- URN
- 118840
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227463711
About this school
Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School is a girls' voluntary controlled secondary school in Canterbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,258 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 September 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 174 | 167 | 177 |
| Attainment 8 score | 65.7 | 66.9 | 67.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.49 +0.27 to +0.71 | +0.43 +0.20 to +0.66 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 90% | 90.4% | 89.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 97% | 97.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 53% | 43.7% | 48% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.2 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65.7 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 66.9 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 67.7 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,244 |
| 2023/24 | 1,249 |
| 2024/25 | 1,256 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School compares
Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School ranked 12th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 97% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67.7 | 6.5% | 8% | 1,258 | — |
| St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury | 39.4 | 8% | 24.1% | 1,116 | 0.2 miles |
| Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys | 66.8 | 6% | 7.9% | 1,226 | 0.6 miles |
| Barton Manor School | — | 6.9% | 44.3% | 596 | 0.6 miles |
| Barton Court Grammar School | 66.4 | 4.6% | 11.4% | 995 | 0.9 miles |
| The Canterbury Academy | 39 | 10.9% | 34% | 1,984 | 1.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 7.97%
- English as an additional language
- 14.3%
- Overall absence
- 6.52%
- Persistent absence
- 14.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury0.2 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys0.6 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Barton Manor School0.6 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Barton Court Grammar School0.9 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
The Canterbury Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
Other schools in Canterbury
Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School ranks 1st of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Canterbury.
- Barton Court Grammar School Secondary
- Barton Manor School Secondary
- Orion Spires Secondary
- Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys Secondary
- St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury Secondary
- The Archbishop's School Secondary
- The Canterbury Academy Secondary
- Adisham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School Primary
- Aylesham Primary School Primary
- Barham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blean Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School teach?
- Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Canterbury.
- Who is the head of school of Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School?
- The head of school of Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School is Mr Paul Pollard, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School?
- Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School has 1,258 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School full?
- Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School has capacity for 1,082 pupils and 1,258 on roll (116%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School a faith school?
- No. Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School has no designated religious character.
- Is Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School a selective school?
- Yes. Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- How have Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 65.7 in 2022/23 and 67.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School ranked 12th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 97% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School's absence rate?
- Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.