SchoolFacts.uk

Tonbridge Grammar School

Secondary · Tonbridge · TN9 2JR

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
Outstanding

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: OutstandingBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: OutstandingSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 16 October 2019

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,150 pupils · 91% of 1,260 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Girls
Admissions
Selective
Free school meals
2.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
11% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
5.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
0.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.tgs.kent.sch.uk
URN
136417

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 353 families named it first for 180 Year 7 places, 1.96 first choices per place. We hold 3 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2024 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Outstanding on 16 October 2019, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.96 first-choice applications per place

180 places offered · 353 first-choice applications · heavily oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places for 2026 entry were decided by test scores, not distance.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Places for 2026 entry were decided by test scores, not distance.

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

179 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
77.2
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
99.4%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
98.3%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
7.7
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) SUPP

suppressed (small cohort)

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school77.2
Median of its 12 closest peers73.6
Kent average48.4
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Stroud High SchoolStroud · 115 miles awayOutstanding76.9
Marling SchoolStroud · 115 miles awayGood73.9
Alcester Grammar SchoolAlcester · 116 miles awayOutstanding73.7
Sir William Borlase's Grammar SchoolMarlow · 53 miles awayOutstanding72.4
Ripon Grammar SchoolRipon · 218 miles awayGood70.9
Lancaster Girls' Grammar SchoolLancaster · 236 miles awayGood73.4
Colchester Royal Grammar SchoolColchester · 55 miles awayExceptional82.1
Dr Challoner's High SchoolAmersham · 49 miles awayOutstanding79.1
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School PenrithPenrith · 271 miles awayGood64.8
Colyton Grammar SchoolColyton · 149 miles awayOutstanding78.8
The Crypt SchoolGloucester · 118 miles awayOutstanding72.7
Maidstone Grammar School for GirlsMaidstone · 12 miles awayOutstanding66.4

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 45% (Kent 68%, England 59%) · Asian Indian 18% (Kent 3%, England 4%) · Any other White background 10% (Kent 7%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 8% (Kent 4%, England 3%) · Asian Chinese 4% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 4% (Kent 2%, England 2%) · Black African 2% (Kent 5%, England 5%) · Not recorded 2% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Kent 2%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Kent 1%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Kent 1%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.8%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
9.9%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.17 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Kent: 13.55 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
19.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

89% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 5% moved to another state school · 7% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

61.1% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.7 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £54,790; 8.7% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,151
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (77%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (6%) · supplies and services 13% (11%) · educational supplies 9% (6%) · bought-in professional services 2% (1%) · catering 0% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £1,873,000; in-year balance -£99,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
100%
Continuing in education
100%
Apprenticeship
0%
Employment
0%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
69%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
18%
Any sustained destination
92%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher51.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications6.2%18.1%
In managerial or professional work50.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways7.8%18.1%
Residents in very good health57.8%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier75.7%62.3%
Social housing4.4%17.1%
Privately rented19.9%20.5%
Detached houses10.3%22.9%
Flats11.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms22.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van12.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01024778 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£409,500420 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£325,000–£540,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (52)£732,500
Semi-detached (149)£475,000
Terraced (153)£362,000
Flat (66)£224,500

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
3an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
2an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
11an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
3an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools