St Edmund's Catholic School
Old Charlton Road, Dover, CT16 2QB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- KENT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS' PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mrs Grainne Parsons
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Sponsor
- Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership
- Constituency
- Dover and Deal
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 644
- URN
- 141217
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01304201551
About this school
St Edmund's Catholic School is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Dover. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 644 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Edmund's Catholic 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 | 90 | 102 | 110 |
| Attainment 8 score | 37.2 | 38.1 | 39.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.26 -0.56 to +0.04 | -0.15 -0.43 to +0.13 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 30.4% | 33.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 50% | 54.9% | 58.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 29.4% | 23.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
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 St Edmund's Catholic 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 | 37.2 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.1 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 567 |
| 2023/24 | 612 |
| 2024/25 | 647 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Edmund's Catholic School compares
St Edmund's Catholic School ranked 67th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39 | 9.8% | 41.7% | 644 | — |
| Dover Grammar School for Girls | 59.9 | 6.9% | 19.3% | 847 | 0.2 miles |
| Duke of York's Royal Military School | 55 | — | 8.3% | 470 | 0.9 miles |
| Dover Grammar School for Boys | 65.4 | 5.9% | 21.8% | 960 | 0.9 miles |
| Astor Secondary School | 27.9 | 13.3% | 62% | 732 | 1.0 miles |
| Dover Christ Church Academy | 30.4 | 8.1% | 50.6% | 761 | 1.0 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 41.73%
- English as an additional language
- 14.5%
- Overall absence
- 9.76%
- Persistent absence
- 29.1%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Dover Grammar School for Girls0.2 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Duke of York's Royal Military School0.9 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Dover Grammar School for Boys0.9 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Astor Secondary School1.0 miles
Secondary · Dover
-
Dover Christ Church Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Dover
Other schools in Dover
St Edmund's Catholic School ranks 4th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Dover.
- Astor Secondary School Secondary
- 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
- 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 St Edmund's Catholic School teach?
- St Edmund's Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Dover.
- Who is the headteacher of St Edmund's Catholic School?
- The headteacher of St Edmund's Catholic School is Mrs Grainne Parsons, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Edmund's Catholic School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Edmund's Catholic 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 St Edmund's Catholic School?
- St Edmund's Catholic School has 644 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Edmund's Catholic School full?
- St Edmund's Catholic School has capacity for 600 pupils and 644 on roll (107%), 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 St Edmund's Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. St Edmund's Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Is St Edmund's Catholic School a selective school?
- No. St Edmund's Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Edmund's Catholic School part of an academy trust?
- St Edmund's Catholic School is part of KENT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS' PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Edmund's Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 37.2 in 2022/23 and 39 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Edmund's Catholic School compare with other schools in Kent?
- St Edmund's Catholic School ranked 67th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Edmund's Catholic School's absence rate?
- St Edmund's Catholic School's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Edmund's Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Edmund's Catholic 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.