The Norton Knatchbull School

About The Norton Knatchbull School

Parents considering The Norton Knatchbull School will find strong signals of local confidence. In the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 376 applications for 173 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.17. Of those, 203 families put it as their first preference, and 153 first-preference offers were made. That level of demand suggests a school that local families actively want, and the numbers back that up: the school is comfortably oversubscribed, with roughly two applicants for every place. While the data doesn’t include a specific parent recommendation percentage, the application figures themselves tell a story of a school that holds real appeal for Ashford families. The school is a boys’ secondary with a co-educational sixth form, and its headteacher is Ben Greene. It has a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has held consistently across its two most recent inspections, including the most recent graded inspection in December 2023.

Academically, the school performs well above the local average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.32 is rated ‘Above average’ nationally, and compares very favourably with the Kent local authority average of -0.13. That means pupils here make significantly more progress than peers in similar schools across the county. In the 2023/24 results, 85.9% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths, and the school’s Attainment 8 score was 64.2. The EBacc entry rate is notably high at 96.6%, with 56.1% of pupils achieving the EBacc at grade 5 or above. At A-level, the school’s value-added score is -0.09, which is rated as ‘Average’, and the average points per entry is 32.43, equivalent to a C+ grade. In the Ashford local authority ranking, the school sits third out of six schools, and nationally it ranks in the top 25% of all schools by Progress 8.

The school is well equipped for a modern secondary education. Facilities include a swimming pool, playing fields, a sixth form centre, music rooms, and an ICT suite. Sports on offer range from football and rugby to martial arts and cross country, and there is a good selection of clubs including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Model UN, and a science club. The school’s SEND provisions cover a broad range of needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language communication needs, and social, emotional and mental health support. With 8.4% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school has a slightly below-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils compared with the national secondary average. The school is oversubscribed, so families applying will need to be aware of the competition for places. It suits families who want a boys’ grammar-style education with strong academic outcomes, a wide extracurricular offer, and a clear sixth form pathway.

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