The Charles Dickens School
Broadstairs Road, Broadstairs, CT10 2RL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- BARTON COURT ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Warren Smith
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Barton Court Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment
- Constituency
- East Thanet
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,104
- Pupils on roll
- 1,117
- URN
- 144015
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01843862988
About this school
The Charles Dickens School is a secondary academy in Broadstairs. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,117 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Charles Dickens 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 | 205 | 211 | 199 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.7 | 43.9 | 42.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.06 -0.13 to +0.26 | +0.22 +0.03 to +0.41 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 30.8% | 28.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 50% | 58.8% | 55.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 8% | 12.8% | 18.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
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 The Charles Dickens 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 | 41.7 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.9 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.5 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 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 | 1,111 |
| 2023/24 | 1,118 |
| 2024/25 | 1,113 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Charles Dickens School compares
The Charles Dickens School ranked 49th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% 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 | 42.5 | 9.8% | 43% | 1,117 | — |
| Dane Court Grammar School | 65.3 | 6.3% | 21.1% | 1,152 | 0.2 miles |
| The Royal Harbour Academy | 28.9 | 15.8% | 63.6% | 1,045 | 1.5 miles |
| Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School | 64 | 7.2% | 16.9% | 1,334 | 1.7 miles |
| Hartsdown Academy | 32.1 | 14.9% | 64.3% | 868 | 2.6 miles |
| Ursuline College | 36.1 | 11.1% | 37.6% | 949 | 4.2 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 42.95%
- English as an additional language
- 8.2%
- Overall absence
- 9.79%
- Persistent absence
- 27.45%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Dane Court Grammar School0.2 miles
Secondary · Broadstairs
-
The Royal Harbour Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Ramsgate
-
Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School1.7 miles
Secondary · Ramsgate
-
Hartsdown Academy2.6 miles
Secondary · Margate
-
Ursuline College4.2 miles
Secondary · Westgate-on-Sea
Other schools in Broadstairs
- Dane Court Grammar School Secondary
- Bromstone Primary School, Broadstairs Primary
- Callis Grange Nursery and Infant School Primary
- Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Broadstairs Primary
- St Mildred's Primary Infant School Primary
- St Peter-in-Thanet CofE Junior School Primary
- Upton Junior School Primary
- St George's Church of England Foundation School All-through
- EKC Group 16 plus
- Stone Bay School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does The Charles Dickens School teach?
- The Charles Dickens School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Broadstairs.
- Who is the headteacher of The Charles Dickens School?
- The headteacher of The Charles Dickens School is Mr Warren Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Charles Dickens School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Charles Dickens 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 The Charles Dickens School?
- The Charles Dickens School has 1,117 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Charles Dickens School full?
- The Charles Dickens School has capacity for 1,104 pupils and 1,117 on roll (101%), 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 The Charles Dickens School a faith school?
- No. The Charles Dickens School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Charles Dickens School a selective school?
- No. The Charles Dickens School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Charles Dickens School part of an academy trust?
- The Charles Dickens 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.
- What SEN provision does The Charles Dickens School have?
- The schools register lists The Charles Dickens School's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Charles Dickens School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.7 in 2022/23 and 42.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Charles Dickens School compare with other schools in Kent?
- The Charles Dickens School ranked 49th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% 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 The Charles Dickens School's absence rate?
- The Charles Dickens School's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Charles Dickens School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Charles Dickens 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 10 July 2026.