Dartford Grammar School for Girls
Shepherds Lane, Dartford, DA1 2NT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE ARETÉ TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sharon Pritchard
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Constituency
- Dartford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,119
- Pupils on roll
- 1,257
- URN
- 144100
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01322223123
About this school
Dartford Grammar School for Girls is a girls' secondary academy in Dartford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,257 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
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
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Exceptional
- Attendance and behaviour
- Exceptional
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Exceptional
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Post-16 provision
- Exceptional
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 173 | 179 | 176 |
| Attainment 8 score | 75.2 | 75.3 | 75.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.93 +0.71 to +1.15 | +0.82 +0.61 to +1.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 99% | 99.4% | 94.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 100% | 98.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 87% | 88.3% | 80.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.2 |
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 Dartford Grammar School for Girls 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 | 75.2 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 75.3 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 75.5 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,248 |
| 2023/24 | 1,245 |
| 2024/25 | 1,248 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dartford Grammar School for Girls compares
Dartford Grammar School for Girls ranked 4th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 99% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 75.5 | 4.6% | 23.3% | 1,257 | — |
| Dartford Science & Technology College | 49.1 | 8.4% | 22.3% | 857 | 0.1 miles |
| Dartford Grammar School | 79.9 | 4.3% | 8.8% | 1,576 | 0.1 miles |
| Wilmington Grammar School for Girls | 66.7 | 4.8% | 7.4% | 1,154 | 1.0 miles |
| Wilmington Grammar School for Boys | 64.6 | 5.4% | 11.3% | 1,174 | 1.1 miles |
| Leigh Academy Wilmington | 45.4 | 8% | 22.7% | 1,386 | 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 23.33%
- English as an additional language
- 38.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.6%
- Persistent absence
- 8.13%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Dartford Science & Technology College0.1 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Dartford Grammar School0.1 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Wilmington Grammar School for Girls1.0 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Wilmington Grammar School for Boys1.1 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Leigh Academy Wilmington1.2 miles
Secondary · Wilmington
Other schools in Dartford
Dartford Grammar School for Girls ranks 2nd of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Dartford.
- Dartford Grammar School Secondary
- Dartford Science & Technology College Secondary
- Haberdashers' Crayford Academy Secondary
- Leigh UTC Dartford Secondary
- Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy Secondary
- Stone Lodge School Secondary
- Wilmington Grammar School for Boys Secondary
- Wilmington Grammar School for Girls Secondary
- Bean Primary School Primary
- Dartford Bridge Community Primary School Primary
- Fleetdown Primary Academy Primary
- Greenlands Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Dartford Grammar School for Girls teach?
- Dartford Grammar School for Girls teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Dartford.
- Who is the headteacher of Dartford Grammar School for Girls?
- The headteacher of Dartford Grammar School for Girls is Mrs Sharon Pritchard, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Dartford Grammar School for Girls last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dartford Grammar School for Girls, 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 Dartford Grammar School for Girls?
- Dartford Grammar School for Girls has 1,257 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Dartford Grammar School for Girls full?
- Dartford Grammar School for Girls has capacity for 1,119 pupils and 1,257 on roll (112%), 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 Dartford Grammar School for Girls a faith school?
- No. Dartford Grammar School for Girls has no designated religious character.
- Is Dartford Grammar School for Girls a selective school?
- Yes. Dartford Grammar School for Girls is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Who runs Dartford Grammar School for Girls?
- Dartford Grammar School for Girls is part of THE ARETÉ TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Dartford Grammar School for Girls's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 75.2 in 2022/23 and 75.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dartford Grammar School for Girls rank locally?
- Dartford Grammar School for Girls ranked 4th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 99% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dartford Grammar School for Girls's absence rate?
- Dartford Grammar School for Girls's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dartford Grammar School for Girls's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dartford Grammar School for Girls'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 2 July 2026.