Barton Court Grammar School
Longport, Canterbury, CT1 1PH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- BARTON COURT ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Jonathan Hopkins
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Sponsor
- Barton Court Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Canterbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 995
- URN
- 137474
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227464600
About this school
Barton Court Grammar School is a secondary academy in Canterbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 995 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 146 | 141 | 152 |
| Attainment 8 score | 63.5 | 66.0 | 66.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.15 -0.08 to +0.38 | +0.38 +0.14 to +0.61 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 82% | 83.7% | 84.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 97% | 95.7% | 97.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 99% | 88.7% | 91.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.0 | 6.3 | 6.4 |
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 Barton Court 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 | 63.5 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 66 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 66.4 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 985 |
| 2023/24 | 1,002 |
| 2024/25 | 1,005 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Barton Court Grammar School compares
Barton Court Grammar School ranked 18th 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 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66.4 | 4.6% | 11.4% | 995 | — |
| Barton Manor School | — | 6.9% | 44.3% | 596 | 0.4 miles |
| Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School | 67.7 | 6.5% | 8% | 1,258 | 0.9 miles |
| St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury | 39.4 | 8% | 24.1% | 1,116 | 1.0 miles |
| Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys | 66.8 | 6% | 7.9% | 1,226 | 1.1 miles |
| The Canterbury Academy | 39 | 10.9% | 34% | 1,984 | 1.2 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
-
Ungraded inspection report20 November 2024
- 11 February 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 11.35%
- English as an additional language
- 13.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.55%
- Persistent absence
- 7.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Barton Manor School0.4 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School0.9 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury1.0 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys1.1 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
The Canterbury Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
Other schools in Canterbury
Barton Court Grammar School ranks 3rd of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Canterbury.
- Barton Manor School Secondary
- Orion Spires Secondary
- Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School 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 year groups does Barton Court Grammar School teach?
- Barton Court Grammar School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Canterbury.
- Who is the headteacher of Barton Court Grammar School?
- The headteacher of Barton Court Grammar School is Mr Jonathan Hopkins, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Barton Court Grammar School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Barton Court 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 big is Barton Court Grammar School?
- Barton Court Grammar School has 995 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Barton Court Grammar School full?
- Barton Court Grammar School has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 995 on roll (95%), 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 Barton Court Grammar School a faith school?
- No. Barton Court Grammar School has no designated religious character.
- Is Barton Court Grammar School a selective school?
- Yes. Barton Court Grammar School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Who runs Barton Court Grammar School?
- Barton Court Grammar School is part of BARTON COURT ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Barton Court Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 63.5 in 2022/23 and 66.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Barton Court Grammar School rank locally?
- Barton Court Grammar School ranked 18th 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 71% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Barton Court Grammar School's absence rate?
- Barton Court Grammar School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Barton Court Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Barton Court 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 1 July 2026.