Turner Free School
Tile Kiln Lane, Cheriton, Folkestone, CT19 4PB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- TURNER SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Mr Jamie MacLean
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Turner Schools
- Constituency
- Folkestone and Hythe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,260
- Pupils on roll
- 997
- URN
- 145923
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01303842400
About this school
Turner Free School is a secondary academy in Folkestone. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 997 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Turner Free 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
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 | 121 | 171 | 167 |
| Attainment 8 score | 37.4 | 35.4 | 37.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.59 -0.85 to -0.34 | -0.55 -0.77 to -0.33 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 21% | 17% | 24.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 43.9% | 47.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 36% | 30.4% | 33.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.0 | 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 Turner Free 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 | 37.4 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 35.4 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 37.6 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 826 |
| 2023/24 | 951 |
| 2024/25 | 1,020 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Turner Free School compares
Turner Free School ranked 74th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 32% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37.6 | 7.9% | 44.7% | 997 | — |
| The Harvey Grammar School | 61.8 | 4.9% | 13.8% | 1,005 | 0.5 miles |
| Folkestone Academy | 33.7 | 9.7% | 52% | 936 | 0.8 miles |
| The Folkestone School for Girls | 57.9 | 7.1% | 15.7% | 1,145 | 1.0 miles |
| Brockhill Park Performing Arts College | 37.4 | 9.6% | 33.6% | 1,314 | 3.7 miles |
| Astor Secondary School | 27.9 | 13.3% | 62% | 732 | 6.6 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)
- 44.7%
- English as an additional language
- 7.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.94%
- Persistent absence
- 23.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Harvey Grammar School0.5 miles
Secondary · Folkestone
-
Folkestone Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Folkestone
-
The Folkestone School for Girls1.0 miles
Secondary · Folkestone
-
Brockhill Park Performing Arts College3.7 miles
Secondary · Hythe
-
Astor Secondary School6.6 miles
Secondary · Dover
Other schools in Folkestone
- Folkestone Academy Secondary
- The Folkestone School for Girls Secondary
- The Harvey Grammar School Secondary
- All Soul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Capel-le-Ferne Primary School Primary
- Castle Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Cheriton Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone Primary
- Folkestone Primary Primary
- Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Folkestone, St Martin's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Folkestone, St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Turner Free School teach?
- Turner Free School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Folkestone.
- Who is the headteacher of Turner Free School?
- The headteacher of Turner Free School is Mr Jamie MacLean, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Turner Free School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Turner Free 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 Turner Free School?
- Turner Free School has 997 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Turner Free School full?
- Turner Free School has capacity for 1,260 pupils and 997 on roll (79%), 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 Turner Free School a faith school?
- No. Turner Free School has no designated religious character.
- Is Turner Free School a selective school?
- No. Turner Free School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Turner Free School part of an academy trust?
- Turner Free School is part of TURNER SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Turner Free School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 37.4 in 2022/23 and 37.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Turner Free School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Turner Free School ranked 74th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 32% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Turner Free School's absence rate?
- Turner Free School's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Turner Free School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Turner Free 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.