The Beacon Folkestone[1]

Special · ages 3–19

Headline results

Special schools' results are not shown as headlines: they are not comparable with mainstream schools'.

Results

Results at special schools and alternative provision aren't comparable with mainstream schools'. Shown as published, not compared.

GCSE (key stage 4)

Attainment 8: 0.3 2024/25[2]
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 0% 2024/25[2]
Progress 8: -1.55 2023/24[3]
Progress 8, 2025/26: Not calculated[4]
Progress 8, 2024/25: Not calculated[4]
All results, 2020/21: Not published (exams cancelled, COVID-19)[5]
All results, 2019/20: Not published (exams cancelled, COVID-19)[6]

Earlier years
Year	Attainment 8	Grade 5+ in English & maths	Progress 8
2023/24	0.5[3]	0%[3]	-1.55[3]
2022/23	0.3[7]	0%[7]	-1.61[7]
2018/19	0.5[8]	0%[8]	-1.78[8]
2017/18	0.4[9]	0%[9]	-1.46[9]

Primary (key stage 2)

Expected standard (reading, writing & maths): 0% 2024/25[10]
Higher standard (reading, writing & maths): 0% 2024/25[10]
Reading, average scaled score: 100 2024/25[10]
Maths, average scaled score: 95 2024/25[10]
All results, 2021/22: Not published[11]
All results, 2020/21: Not published (exams cancelled, COVID-19)[11]
All results, 2019/20: Not published (exams cancelled, COVID-19)[11]

Earlier years
Year	Expected standard (reading, writing & maths)	Higher standard (reading, writing & maths)	Reading, average scaled score	Maths, average scaled score
2023/24	0%[12]	0%[12]	97[12]	114[12]
2022/23	0%[13]	0%[13]
2018/19	0%[14]	0%[14]
2017/18	0%[15]	0%[15]

Destinations after GCSEs

Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment: 97% 2022/23[16]
School sixth form: 0% 2022/23[16]
Sixth-form college: 0% 2022/23[16]
Further education college: 0% 2022/23[16]
Apprenticeship: 0% 2022/23[16]
Employment: 0% 2022/23[16]

Earlier leavers
Left in	Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment	School sixth form	Sixth-form college	Further education college	Apprenticeship	Employment
2021/22	100%[17]	0%[17]	0%[17]	4%[17]	0%[17]	0%[17]
2020/21	92%[18]	0%[18]	0%[18]	8%[18]	0%[18]	0%[18]
2019/20	100%[19]	0%[19]	0%[19]	3%[19]	0%[19]	0%[19]
2018/19	94%[20]	0%[20]	0%[20]	63%[20]	0%[20]	0%[20]

Shares of the pupils who left in the year shown. Russell Group and Oxford or Cambridge figures were published for leavers up to 2019/20 only.

Ofsted

Latest inspection: 5 Jun 2024[21]
Type: Section 8 inspection of good and outstanding schools[21]
Report published: 9 Jul 2024[21]
Safeguarding is effective: Yes[21]
Outcomes for ungraded and monitoring inspections: School remains Outstanding[21]

Earlier inspections
Inspection	Type	Overall
11 Feb 2020[22]	S8 No Formal Designation Visit[22]	No overall grade[22]
12 Feb 2019[23]	S5 Inspection[23]	Outstanding[23]

Competition to get in

No published data for this school.

Character & practicalities

Type: Foundation special school[1]
Ages: 3–19[1]
Boys / girls: Mixed[1]
Sixth form: Yes[1]
Boarding: No boarders[1]
Capacity: 354[1]
Trust: Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (KSENT)[1]
Local authority: Kent[1]
Website: www.thebeacon.kent.sch.uk [1]
District: Folkestone and Hythe [24]
Postcode: CT19 5DN[1]
URN: 119044[1]

School details as recorded in Get Information About Schools on 14 Oct 2026.

Pupils

Number on roll: 431 2024/25[25]
English as an additional language: 7% 2024/25[25]
SEN support: 0% 2024/25[25]
EHC plan: 100% 2024/25[25]
Free school meals in the last 6 years: 55.6% 2024/25[25]

Pupils' ethnicity 2025/26

White: 87.6%[26]
Mixed: 4.5%[26]
Asian: 4.7%[26]
Black: 0.9%[26]
Any other ethnic group: 1.7%[26]
Unclassified: 0.6%[26]

The school census's major ethnic groups as shares of the school's pupils, summed by us from the published counts. For information only: never used to rank, filter or colour schools.

Sources

Department for Education: Get Information About Schools: all establishments. Period 2026-10-14, published 2026-10-14. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2023/24, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Key stage 4 performance 2024/25: data guidance. Period 2024/25. Archived copy; original. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Quote
It is not possible to calculate Progress 8 for academic years 2024/25 and 2025/26 due to gaps in the baseline caused by COVID-19 disruption.
Department for Education: Key stage 4 performance 2020/21. Period 2020/21. Archived copy; original. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Quote
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series for the 2020/21 academic year was cancelled
Department for Education: Key stage 4 performance 2019/20. Period 2019/20. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Quote
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series was cancelled in 2020
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2018/19, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2017/18, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS2 final. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Key stage 2 attainment: national headlines 2021/22. Period 2021/22. Archived copy; original. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Quotes (2)
We will not publish key stage 2 data for academic year 2021/22 in performance tables (also known as Compare School and College Performance).
This is the first publication of key stage 2 attainment statistics since 2019 due to cancellation of 2020 and 2021 assessments during the pandemic.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS2 final. Period 2023/24, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS2 final. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS2 final. Period 2018/19, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS2 final. Period 2017/18, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2020/21, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2019/20, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2018/19, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2023/24. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2019/20. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2018/19. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Office for National Statistics: Parish to Ward to Local Authority District (May 2026) Lookup in EW. Period 2026-05-01. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: School census. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Schools, pupils and their characteristics: school level underlying data. Period 2025/26, published 2026-06-04. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.