Astor Secondary School
Academy converter · sixth form · 732 pupils
72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 27.9
Academy converter
The Folkestone School for Girls
- Pupils on roll
- 1,145of 1,053 places
- Free school meals
- 13.7%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 165
- Ofsted
- Good, 23 April 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: The Folkestone School for Girls (URN 118909, until 1 February 2012).
What the data says
Of the 182 pupils who finished Year 11 at The Folkestone School for Girls in 2023, 79% stayed on in The Folkestone School for Girls’ own sixth form (Kent average 56%), 20% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Among the 155 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 57% went to university (Kent 39%, England 37%), and 15% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 57.9 against 46.1 across England and 46.7 in Kent, with 67% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%) — as a selective grammar school, The Folkestone School for Girls admits pupils by test at 11, which drives these figures.
Religious Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 96% of the year group took it, against 31% of pupils across England.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Kent and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 182 | 17,954 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 99% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 98% | 88% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 79% | 56% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 20% | 28% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 4% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 0% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 155 | 14,947 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 89% | 80% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 57% | 39% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 15% | 20% | 19% |
| Further education | 1% | 4% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 6% | 7% |
| Employment | 28% | 30% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 15% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 57.9 | 46.7 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 67% | 47% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 89% | 65% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 44% | 47% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.08 | 4.18 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 16% | 25% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 52.5 | 32.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 59.0 | 51.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 10% | 12% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 166 | 100% | 89% | 38% | 20% | 94% |
| Mathematics | 165 | 100% | 88% | 18% | 22% | 89% |
| English Literature | 161 | 98% | 86% | 37% | 21% | 95% |
| Religious Studies | 158 | 96% | 31% | 32% | 32% | 85% |
| Geography | 120 | 73% | 41% | 31% | 25% | 88% |
| History | 110 | 67% | 41% | 31% | 26% | 85% |
| Combined Science | 101 | 61% | 65% | 15% | 9% | 91% |
| Business Studies | 65 | 39% | 18% | 31% | 20% | 91% |
| Biology | 58 | 35% | 23% | 38% | 45% | 100% |
| Physics | 57 | 35% | 23% | 30% | 46% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 56 | 34% | 23% | 32% | 47% | 100% |
| Spanish | 41 | 25% | 19% | 41% | 27% | 95% |
| Fine Art | 39 | 24% | 9% | 56% | 28% | 100% |
| French | 31 | 19% | 18% | 42% | 29% | 97% |
| Dance | 28 | 17% | 1% | 21% | 27% | 96% |
| Drama | 23 | 14% | 7% | 48% | 27% | 96% |
| Textiles | 12 | 7% | 2% | 17% | 27% | 100% |
| Computer Science | 12 | 7% | 13% | 42% | 30% | 100% |
| Photography | 11 | 7% | 6% | 73% | 19% | 100% |
| Music | 5 | 3% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Psychology | 1 | 1% | 3% | — | 22% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | 49 | 36% | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 35 | 26% | — |
| Personal Health | 19 | 14% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | This school | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 262 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 135 | 7,794 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B- | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 36.98 | 34.87 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B- | B- | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | 40 | 30% | 20% |
| Psychology | 35 | 26% | 23% |
| History | 31 | 23% | 13% |
| Sociology | 28 | 21% | 13% |
| Geography | 27 | 20% | 10% |
| Chemistry | 25 | 19% | 17% |
| English Literature | 23 | 17% | 11% |
| Mathematics | 19 | 14% | 31% |
| Fine Art | 16 | 12% | 3% |
| English Language and Literature | 10 | 7% | 2% |
| Politics | 10 | 7% | 6% |
| Photography | 9 | 7% | 3% |
| Economics | 9 | 7% | 13% |
| Business Studies | 8 | 6% | 13% |
| Film Studies | 8 | 6% | 2% |
| Dance | 8 | 6% | 0% |
| Computer Science | 7 | 5% | 5% |
| Physics | 7 | 5% | 12% |
| French | 6 | 4% | 1% |
| Religious Studies | 6 | 4% | 4% |
| Graphic Communication | — | — | 2% |
| Russian | — | — | 0% |
| Drama | — | — | 2% |
| Spanish | — | — | 2% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
| Product Design | — | — | 2% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Science | VRQ Level 3 | 27 | 20% | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 21 | 16% | — |
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 19 | 14% | — |
| Sports Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Biology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Biology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
Where The Folkestone School for Girls is
Other secondary schools in Kent are shown for comparison; darker blue means more Year 11 leavers stayed in education. The last distance at which this school offered places is not yet on file — it comes from Kent’s allocation statistics.
Other secondary schools in Kent
Aylesford School
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 916 pupils
73% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.6
Barton Court Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 995 pupils
97% stayed in education · Attainment 8 66.4
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,913 pupils
95% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.0
Borden Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 938 pupils
94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 63.2
Brockhill Park Performing Arts College
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,314 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.4
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.