(updated 12 Dec 2011)

Dane Court Grammar School. 2 qualified first choices oversubscribed on 2nd March 2010, 10 for 2011. Now has completely new premises thanks to BSF.  Has become an academy, in conjunction with its Federated partner, King Ethelbert School.

Dartford Grammar School has now become a 'Gove' Academy. Made major changes in its oversubscription criteria for entry in 2009, removing any priority for boys in North West Kent outside Dartford, and replacing it by high scorers wherever they live.  Details here. Children across villages spreading from Fawkham across to Eynsford, together with Swanley and parts of Bexley together with boys who had sisters at Dartford Girls Grammar have now lost any claim on places unless they also join the high scorers possibly as many as half, or 75 boys. Pass mark for those outside Dartford was 394 for 2010 entry, reflecting its  draw for boys across South East London, as there are few other grammar school opportunities for boys as far away as Lewisham and Greenwich. As anticipated it shot up for for 2011 entry as the word has spread across SE London, pass mark being 411, and the school becoming second most popular grammar school in Kent with 88 qualified first choices turned away (Tonbridge Grammar first). Made 72 offers to out of county boys out of a total of 150. Top Kent school in the English Baccalaureate, with 97% of boys achieving the standard. Assisted, as boys follow the Middle School Years Baccalaureate already, and so follow a broad academic curriculum. Second highest  scoring school in the country.

Most of the displaced children will be searching for alternative grammar school places at Gravesend Grammar or Wilmington Grammar, both of which were oversubscribed in 2009 & 2011, but not in 2010. Meanwhile there will be very able boys from Gravesham and Bexley now giving priority to Dartford Grammar, so there will be a polarising of ability in West Kent, with Dartford Grammar developing a two band intake; very high scorers from across a wide area, together with boys of all pass standards from within Dartford. 

Dartford Grammar School for Girls - OFSTED 2011- Good. Excerpts from the Report: Information about the school Dartford Grammar School for Girls is an academically selective school with a large sixth form. Students attend from several south London boroughs as well as Dartford and the surrounding rural areas. The school has specialist status in science, mathematics and information communication technology (ICT).  The current headteacher was appointed in September 2011, having been head of school for two years, during which time the substantive headteacher worked as an Executive Headteacher of this school and another school in the local authority for one year. Main findings Dartford Grammar School for Girls is a high achieving school which provides its students with a good education. Students attain excellent results in national examinations and they make good progress from their starting points, which are well above the national average. The proportion of A* and A grades at GCSE and A level is increasing because the school is using data analysis more effectively to identify and target subjects where students are not achieving as well as they could. Students are proud to be part of the school community. Their outstanding behaviour and high attendance make a significant contribution to their learning. All students feel extremely safe and secure. Bullying and racism are very rare and dealt with quickly and effectively.The respect that students show to each other and the concern they feel for others less fortunate than themselves is translated into the multitude of ways in which they contribute to the local and wider community. The good curriculum, underpinned by strong partnerships and specialist science provision, supports students’ development and learning very well. There are examples of outstanding teaching and learning in the school but there is also a minority of weaker teaching. Where teaching is outstanding, the activities and tasks take account of students’ learning and work, are carefully planned to move learning on quickly and provide sufficient intellectual challenge. However, in a few lessons the pace of learning is not quick enough because teachers do not assess students’ understanding at key points during the lessons and amend their teaching in response to their needs. Inconsistencies in the quality of teaching in some subjects are a key factor in preventing students from making outstanding progress overall. Through the decisive leadership of the headteacher the school is introducing rigorous procedures to monitor and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses and provide a thorough review of performance across all subject areas. This underpins its good capacity to improve. Good governance provides the school with well-informed challenge and support.The sixth form is highly valued by parents, carers, students and staff. Sixth formers are excellent role models for younger students and make a significant contribution to the school through an excellent enrichment programme. Outcomes for sixth form students vary in quality. Examination results are high and students make outstanding progress in subjects where there is consistently strong teaching and they are guided to take courses that are matched carefully to their capabilities and interests. The leadership and management of the sixth form are no more than satisfactory because self-evaluation, although improving, is not rigorous enough to identify precisely and communicate clearly what needs to be done to improve the quality of outcomes for all students. 47 qualified first choices oversubscribed on 2nd March 2010, rising to 65 for 2011. Amongst "other eligible girls" the cut off score for 2010 was 404. For 2011 it soared to 413.

Dartford Technology College - Normally fills in September. OFSTED 2011 surprisingly placed in Special Measures. Excerpts from the Report: Information about the school - Dartford Technology College is smaller than the average secondary school. The large majority of students are White British and speak English as their first language. Around 20% of the students are from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds with the largest group being of Black African heritage. The proportion of students eligible for free school meals is lower than average. The proportion of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities is higher than that found nationally, although the proportion with a statement of special educational needs is low. Around a third of higher-attaining pupils from the local primary schools attend neighbouring grammar schools. The school has held specialist technology status since 1997 and specialist status for applied learning since June 2009. It provides joint sixth form provision with four other local schools. The school moved into a new building in March 2009 as part of the Dartford Learning Campus. A new headteacher has been appointed and is due to take up post in September 2011. Main findings - In accordance with section 13(3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. The progress that students make declined markedly after the previous inspection but recent improvements indicate it is now satisfactory. However, relative to national averages, attainment has declined and is low in significant areas and the improved progress is yet to have an impact on raising this. Many weaknesses identified at the previous inspection have not been tackled effectively, and the governing body has not appreciated the extent of the school's underperformance. Leaders and managers have made efforts to drive improvement but these have been hindered by the school's self-evaluation processes, which are overgenerous and insufficiently self-critical. School leaders' analysis and reporting of the performance of different groups of students are insufficiently rigorous. Gaps in achievement between groups of students have widened since the previous inspection because the school has failed to identify these and ensure equality of opportunity successfully. The challenge provided by the governing body is not robust enough. The school's development plan lacks precision. Timescales for actions and improvements are not clear and so progress towards them cannot be effectively monitored. The identification and sharing of best practice are underdeveloped. The school's capacity for sustained improvement is inadequate. Students enjoy school and say they feel safe and cared for. Bullying is uncommon. Inspectors observed some good behaviour in class, but in a small minority of lessons students' independent learning is weak and is disrupted by low-level chatter. Often this is because teaching is no better than satisfactory and the use of assessment data is weak. The use of assessment to support learning is inadequate and not used effectively to ensure that activities are consistently demanding. As a result, students' attention wanes and has a negative impact on their learning and progress. The quality of marking and written feedback on students work is also too variable, and was a weakness at the previous inspection. In line with the school's specialist status for applied learning, an increasing number of vocational programmes are being introduced to help develop students' work-related skills better and to provide appropriate progression routes through to the sixth form. The overall effectiveness of the school's sixth form is satisfactory. The school generally engages well with parents and carers and has extended the opportunities available for parents and carers to discuss their children's progress. Just a year ago, the Ombudsman published an Interim Inspection progress Report in April 2010, link here, that identified satisfactory progress from the previous Inspection. The latest Inspection was carried out way back in June, suggesting there has been much behind the scenes discussion before this was agreed and published. Compare this with the previous secondary school Special Measures Report, at Walmer Science College, to catch the different flavour. I think one can feel sorry for the school which has clearly been making progress with satisfactory progress by pupils and the built in disadvantage Kent non-selective schools have when compared with the standards of all-ability schools across the country.

Dover Christ Church Academy, replaces Archer's Court Maths and Computing College and opened in September. Specialising in maths and computing, and music, the co-educational school has a capacity of 950 11 to 18 year olds as well as around 40 students with profound severe and complex special needs. It is being sponsored by Christ Church University, Canterbury, along with Kent County Council and the two Dover Grammar schools. It is currently waiting the Autumn Spending Review to discover the prospects for its new buildings. The fall in pupil numbers in Dover contributes to its disappointing 41 vacancies before appeals for other schools for 2011 entry.

Dover Grammar School for Boys & Dover Grammar School for Girls: These two schools have negotiated a unique agreement in Kent. Access through both is success in either the Kent Test or a separate Dover Test and children can take both tests. The Dover test comprises VR, NVER, maths and English and pass is by an aggregate score. There is relevant information in Appendix Five of Proposed Arrangements

The Dover Test is not recognised by KCC as valid for entrance to any other grammar school and a pass has not generally been considered a valid case by Independent Appeal Panels for other grammar schools. Impossible to say if there was oversubscription as Dover test results do not show on statistics.

Dover Grammar Girls 2007 OFSTED Report states: "This is an outstanding school. Standards are very high. Students join the school with standards already above national averages. In each year group, the gap between the school and national levels of performance increases significantly, indicating outstanding progress and achievement. The school has improved the already high levels of performance found in the last inspection and is rightly proud that performance at A level was the highest in the local authority for three of the last five years" (it continues! Peter).

Impossible to say how oversubscribed as Dover test results do not show on statistics. 

Duke of York's Academy, Dover This private school run by the MOD has now become a mainstream state funded part boarding academy from September 2010, with military traditions sponsored by the Secretary of State for Defence, primarily focused on providing continuity of education for the children of those serving in the Armed Forces who live in the region. This priority is reflected in the oversubscription criteria, but local children may qualify for access after all military preferences have been met.  A decision on whether the new building programme will go ahead is awaited in the government Autumn Spending Review. As there were 35 vacancies after allocation in March 2011, presumably anyone wanting a boarding education is eligible for a place. I am afraid I don't know boarding fees, but will be considerably less than private schools as education is free.