Dover Grammar School for Girls, Dover

In its own words: "At Dover Grammar School for Girls, we believe education is about much more than academic success. We are proud of our long tradition of excellence, but equally committed to nurturing kindness, respect, and compassion throughout our community. Our school values diversity and inclusion, ensuring every student and staff member feels recognised, valued, and supported."

From the headteacher's welcome: "I am extremely privileged to be the Headteacher of this wonderful school. Dover Grammar School for Girls has a long tradition of academic excellence, but we are equally proud of being a community shaped by kindness, compassion, and respect."

The school runs a breakfast club.

In 2026, pupils at Dover Grammar School for Girls averaged an Attainment 8 score of 56.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 48.1 in Kent and 47 across England.

70% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Kent and 47% in England.

That is down from 59.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.17: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 54.1, against 57.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 3.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 25 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

Dover Grammar School for Girls is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 178 families put Dover Grammar School for Girls as their first choice and 330 named it as one of their preferences, for 140 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 41 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Dover Grammar School for Girls admits pupils through an entrance test - in Kent, the Kent Test. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Dover Grammar School for Girls ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Kent's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Kent has 32 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Dover Grammar School for Girls are St Edmund's Catholic School (0.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 33.7); Dover Grammar School for Boys (0.8 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 63.1); Astor Secondary School (0.9 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 30.3); and Duke of York's Royal Military School (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 58.9).

Dover Grammar School for Girls's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.

113 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Dover Grammar School for Girls (as of September 2025): 84% would recommend the school, 88% say their child is happy there and 58% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (96%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (58%).

Of the 124 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 93% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 27% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.

Of the 111 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 53% went on to university or other higher education, 1% to apprenticeships and 24% into work. 22% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

10.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (77%), Mixed (8%) and Asian (6%).

In 2026, 51 pupils (6%) received SEN support and 6 (0.7%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

Dover Grammar School for Girls had 64 teachers in 2026, one for every 14 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Dover Priory Rail Station, about 870 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Dover Girls' Grammar School (adjacent), 80 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Dover Grammar School for Girls stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 429 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Kent (101), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Dover Grammar School for Girls issued 74 suspensions, 8.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Dover Grammar School for Girls are Charlton Church of England Primary School (under 0.1 miles), St Richard's Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles), Barton Junior School (0.2 miles) and Shatterlocks Infant and Nursery School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.