King Ethelbert School
Canterbury Road, Birchington, CT7 9BL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- COASTAL ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Tom Sellen
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Coastal Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Herne Bay and Sandwich
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 870
- Pupils on roll
- 845
- URN
- 136584
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01843831999
About this school
King Ethelbert School is a secondary academy in Birchington. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 845 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected King Ethelbert 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 145 | 138 | 141 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.6 | 35.2 | 36.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.16 -0.39 to +0.07 | -0.43 -0.67 to -0.19 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 29% | 19.6% | 22% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 47.1% | 39% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 13% | 21.7% | 34.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
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 King Ethelbert 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 | 42.6 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 35.2 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 36.8 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 757 |
| 2023/24 | 752 |
| 2024/25 | 794 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How King Ethelbert School compares
King Ethelbert School ranked 80th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36.8 | 10.3% | 35.1% | 845 | — |
| Ursuline College | 36.1 | 11.1% | 37.6% | 949 | 0.2 miles |
| Hartsdown Academy | 32.1 | 14.9% | 64.3% | 868 | 2.0 miles |
| The Royal Harbour Academy | 28.9 | 15.8% | 63.6% | 1,045 | 3.6 miles |
| Dane Court Grammar School | 65.3 | 6.3% | 21.1% | 1,152 | 4.3 miles |
| The Charles Dickens School | 42.5 | 9.8% | 43% | 1,117 | 4.5 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)
- 35.09%
- English as an additional language
- 6.9%
- Overall absence
- 10.32%
- Persistent absence
- 30.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ursuline College0.2 miles
Secondary · Westgate-on-Sea
-
Hartsdown Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Margate
-
The Royal Harbour Academy3.6 miles
Secondary · Ramsgate
-
Dane Court Grammar School4.3 miles
Secondary · Broadstairs
-
The Charles Dickens School4.5 miles
Secondary · Broadstairs
Other schools in Birchington
- Birchington Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Nicholas At Wade Church of England Primary School Primary
- Maple Haven Ltd Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does King Ethelbert School teach?
- King Ethelbert School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Birchington.
- Who is the headteacher of King Ethelbert School?
- The headteacher of King Ethelbert School is Mr Tom Sellen, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has King Ethelbert School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected King Ethelbert 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 King Ethelbert School?
- King Ethelbert School has 845 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is King Ethelbert School full?
- King Ethelbert School has capacity for 870 pupils and 845 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is King Ethelbert School a faith school?
- No. King Ethelbert School has no designated religious character.
- Is King Ethelbert School a selective school?
- No. King Ethelbert School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is King Ethelbert School part of an academy trust?
- King Ethelbert School is part of COASTAL ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have King Ethelbert School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.6 in 2022/23 and 36.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does King Ethelbert School compare with other schools in Kent?
- King Ethelbert School ranked 80th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is King Ethelbert School's absence rate?
- King Ethelbert School's overall absence rate is 10.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are King Ethelbert School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, King Ethelbert 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 1 July 2026.