Highsted Grammar School

About Highsted Grammar School

Highsted Grammar School sits within the Kent local authority, a county with a strong grammar school tradition, and ranks 2nd out of 7 schools in the Swale district when measured by Progress 8. The top-performing schools in the wider Kent area include Dartford Grammar School, The Judd School, and Dartford Grammar School for Girls, all of which post significantly higher Progress 8 scores. Highsted is a girls-only state secondary with a sixth form, and it is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 it received 326 applications for 111 places, with 143 first-preference applications and 106 first-preference offers. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 2.94, meaning nearly three families apply for every place. The school has a non-religious character and is led by headteacher Anne Kelly. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, in 2023, rated it Good overall, with all categories including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership, and sixth form provision all marked Good. This represents a change from its previous inspection in 2009, when it was rated Outstanding.

Academically, Highsted performs solidly against a challenging backdrop. Its Progress 8 score of -0.04 is classed as Average, and it sits above the Kent local authority average of -0.13. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 60.6, and 91.9% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, with 76.4% reaching grade 5 or above. The EBacc entry rate is very high at 98.6%, and 64.2% of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 4 or above. In English, Progress 8 is positive at +0.47, though maths is weaker at -0.7. At A-level, the school’s value-added score is -0.15, classed as Below average, with an average points per entry of 35.33 (equivalent to a B- grade). The best three A-levels average out at a B- grade, and 17.8% of entries achieved AAB or higher. The sixth form has 77 pupils in the cohort, and the progress banding is below average, so results here are less strong than at GCSE.

The school offers a wide range of facilities including music rooms, science labs, a sixth form centre, tennis courts, art studios, a gymnasium, and an astro turf pitch. Sports on offer include football, rowing, martial arts, rugby, cricket, and rounders, while clubs range from science club and orchestra to book club, art club, choir, film club, drama, gardening, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, visual impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 12.4% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school has a slightly higher-than-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils compared with the national average. Highsted is a good fit for families in the Swale area who want a girls-only grammar school with a strong EBacc focus and a wide extracurricular programme, but who are realistic about A-level outcomes being less strong than at GCSE. The school is oversubscribed, so early application is essential.

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