Borden Grammar School
Avenue of Remembrance, Sittingbourne, ME10 4DB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- BORDEN GRAMMAR SCHOOL TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Ashley Tomlin
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Constituency
- Sittingbourne and Sheppey
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 949
- Pupils on roll
- 938
- URN
- 137800
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01795424192
About this school
Borden Grammar School is a boys' secondary academy in Sittingbourne. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 938 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Borden 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 24 November 2021, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 126 | 123 | 124 |
| Attainment 8 score | 62.7 | 63.1 | 63.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.19 -0.06 to +0.44 | +0.26 +0.01 to +0.51 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 92% | 85.4% | 83.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 97% | 99.2% | 93.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 68% | 76.4% | 64.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
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 Borden 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 | 62.7 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 63.1 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 63.2 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 889 |
| 2023/24 | 924 |
| 2024/25 | 928 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Borden Grammar School compares
Borden Grammar School ranked 27th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63.2 | 4.1% | 12.3% | 938 | — |
| Highsted Grammar School | 61.1 | 6% | 12.5% | 793 | 0.3 miles |
| Fulston Manor School | 35.3 | 11.8% | 25.3% | 1,314 | 0.3 miles |
| The Sittingbourne School | 34.1 | 10.8% | 40.9% | 1,556 | 1.0 miles |
| Westlands School | 40.6 | 9% | 29.9% | 1,690 | 1.1 miles |
| Leigh Academy Rainham | — | 6.2% | 24.6% | 964 | 5.1 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)
- 12.25%
- English as an additional language
- 10.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.11%
- Persistent absence
- 6.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Highsted Grammar School0.3 miles
Secondary · Sittingbourne
-
Fulston Manor School0.3 miles
Secondary · Sittingbourne
-
The Sittingbourne School1.0 miles
Secondary · Sittingbourne
-
Westlands School1.1 miles
Secondary · Sittingbourne
-
Leigh Academy Rainham5.1 miles
Secondary · Gillingham
Other schools in Sittingbourne
Borden Grammar School ranks 1st of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Sittingbourne.
- Fulston Manor School Secondary
- Highsted Grammar School Secondary
- The Sittingbourne School Secondary
- Westlands School Secondary
- Bapchild and Tonge Church of England Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Bobbing Village School Primary
- Borden Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bredgar Church of England Primary School Primary
- Canterbury Road Primary School Primary
- Grove Park Primary School Primary
- Hartlip Endowed Church of England Primary School Primary
- Holywell Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Borden Grammar School teach?
- Borden Grammar School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Sittingbourne.
- Who is the headteacher of Borden Grammar School?
- The headteacher of Borden Grammar School is Mr Ashley Tomlin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Borden Grammar School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Borden 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 Borden Grammar School?
- Borden Grammar School has 938 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Borden Grammar School full?
- Borden Grammar School has capacity for 949 pupils and 938 on roll (99%), 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 Borden Grammar School a faith school?
- No. Borden Grammar School has no designated religious character.
- Is Borden Grammar School a selective school?
- Yes. Borden Grammar School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Is Borden Grammar School part of an academy trust?
- Borden Grammar School is part of BORDEN GRAMMAR SCHOOL TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Borden Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 62.7 in 2022/23 and 63.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Borden Grammar School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Borden Grammar School ranked 27th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Borden Grammar School's absence rate?
- Borden Grammar School's overall absence rate is 4.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Borden Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Borden 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.