Astor Secondary School
Astor Avenue, Dover, CT17 0AS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SAMPHIRE STAR EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Lee Kane
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Dover and Deal
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,230
- Pupils on roll
- 732
- URN
- 138167
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01304201151
About this school
Astor Secondary School is a secondary academy in Dover. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 732 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Astor Secondary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 137 | 127 | 139 |
| Attainment 8 score | 26.8 | 28.6 | 27.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.37 -1.62 to -1.13 | -1.04 -1.30 to -0.78 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 9% | 8.7% | 10.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 29% | 27.6% | 21.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 4% | 7.1% | 9.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
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 Astor Secondary 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 | 26.8 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 28.6 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 27.9 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 16.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 15.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 803 |
| 2023/24 | 782 |
| 2024/25 | 770 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Astor Secondary School compares
Astor Secondary School ranked 100th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 27.9 | 13.3% | 62% | 732 | — |
| Dover Grammar School for Boys | 65.4 | 5.9% | 21.8% | 960 | 0.1 miles |
| Dover Grammar School for Girls | 59.9 | 6.9% | 19.3% | 847 | 0.9 miles |
| St Edmund's Catholic School | 39 | 9.8% | 41.7% | 644 | 1.0 miles |
| Dover Christ Church Academy | 30.4 | 8.1% | 50.6% | 761 | 1.7 miles |
| Duke of York's Royal Military School | 55 | — | 8.3% | 470 | 2.0 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
-
Graded inspection report10 March 2026
- 31 October 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 61.97%
- English as an additional language
- 16.5%
- Overall absence
- 13.29%
- Persistent absence
- 47.71%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Dover Grammar School for Boys0.1 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Dover Grammar School for Girls0.9 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
St Edmund's Catholic School1.0 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Dover Christ Church Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Duke of York's Royal Military School2.0 miles
Secondary · Dover
Other schools in Dover
Astor Secondary School ranks 6th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Dover.
- Dover Christ Church Academy Secondary
- Dover Grammar School for Boys 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 Astor Secondary School teach?
- Astor Secondary School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Dover.
- Who is the principal of Astor Secondary School?
- The principal of Astor Secondary School is Mr Lee Kane, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Astor Secondary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Astor Secondary 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 Astor Secondary School?
- Astor Secondary School has 732 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Astor Secondary School full?
- Astor Secondary School has capacity for 1,230 pupils and 732 on roll (60%), so it has space against 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 Astor Secondary School a faith school?
- No. Astor Secondary School has no designated religious character.
- Is Astor Secondary School a selective school?
- No. Astor Secondary School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Astor Secondary School part of an academy trust?
- Astor Secondary School is part of SAMPHIRE STAR EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Astor Secondary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 26.8 in 2022/23 and 27.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Astor Secondary School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Astor Secondary School ranked 100th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Astor Secondary School's absence rate?
- Astor Secondary School's overall absence rate is 13.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Astor Secondary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Astor Secondary 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.