Dover Grammar School for Boys
Astor Avenue, Dover, CT17 0DQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mr Philip Horstrup
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Constituency
- Dover and Deal
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 905
- Pupils on roll
- 960
- URN
- 118931
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01304206117
About this school
Dover Grammar School for Boys is a boys' foundation secondary school in Dover. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 960 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Dover Grammar School for Boys, 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 132 | 127 | 114 |
| Attainment 8 score | 60.2 | 59.1 | 65.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.56 +0.32 to +0.80 | +0.54 +0.30 to +0.79 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 85% | 79.5% | 93% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 97% | 93.7% | 97.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 72% | 67.7% | 71.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.9 |
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 Dover Grammar School for Boys 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 | 60.2 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 59.1 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 65.4 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 835 |
| 2023/24 | 865 |
| 2024/25 | 899 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dover Grammar School for Boys compares
Dover Grammar School for Boys ranked 19th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 96% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65.4 | 5.9% | 21.8% | 960 | — |
| Astor Secondary School | 27.9 | 13.3% | 62% | 732 | 0.1 miles |
| Dover Grammar School for Girls | 59.9 | 6.9% | 19.3% | 847 | 0.8 miles |
| St Edmund's Catholic School | 39 | 9.8% | 41.7% | 644 | 0.9 miles |
| Dover Christ Church Academy | 30.4 | 8.1% | 50.6% | 761 | 1.6 miles |
| Duke of York's Royal Military School | 55 | — | 8.3% | 470 | 1.9 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.78%
- English as an additional language
- 7.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.93%
- Persistent absence
- 16.16%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Astor Secondary School0.1 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Dover Grammar School for Girls0.8 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
St Edmund's Catholic School0.9 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Dover Christ Church Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Duke of York's Royal Military School1.9 miles
Secondary · Dover
Other schools in Dover
Dover Grammar School for Boys ranks 1st of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Dover.
- Astor Secondary School Secondary
- Dover Christ Church Academy Secondary
- Dover Grammar School for Girls Secondary
- Duke of York's Royal Military School Secondary
- St Edmund's Catholic School Secondary
- Aycliffe Community Primary School Primary
- Barton Junior School Primary
- Charlton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Dover, St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School Primary
- Green Park Community Primary School Primary
- Guston Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Dover Grammar School for Boys teach?
- Dover Grammar School for Boys teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Dover.
- Who is the headteacher of Dover Grammar School for Boys?
- The headteacher of Dover Grammar School for Boys is Mr Philip Horstrup, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Dover Grammar School for Boys been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dover Grammar School for Boys, 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 Dover Grammar School for Boys?
- Dover Grammar School for Boys has 960 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Dover Grammar School for Boys full?
- Dover Grammar School for Boys has capacity for 905 pupils and 960 on roll (106%), 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 Dover Grammar School for Boys a faith school?
- No. Dover Grammar School for Boys has no designated religious character.
- Is Dover Grammar School for Boys a selective school?
- Yes. Dover Grammar School for Boys is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- How have Dover Grammar School for Boys's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 60.2 in 2022/23 and 65.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dover Grammar School for Boys compare with other schools in Kent?
- Dover Grammar School for Boys ranked 19th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 96% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dover Grammar School for Boys's absence rate?
- Dover Grammar School for Boys's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dover Grammar School for Boys's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dover Grammar School for Boys'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.