The Whitstable School[1]

Secondary · ages 11–18

Headline results

Attainment 8: A8 37 37.4 2025/26[2]
A-level average grade: AL C+ C+ 2024/25[3]

Results

GCSE (key stage 4)

Attainment 8: 37.4 2025/26[2]
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 26.7% 2025/26[2]
Grade 7+ in English & maths: 3.5% 2025/26[2]
Progress 8: -0.52 2023/24[4]
Progress 8, 2025/26: Not calculated[5]
Progress 8, 2024/25: Not calculated[5]

Earlier years
Year	Attainment 8	Grade 5+ in English & maths	Progress 8
2024/25	39.3[6]	29%[6]
2023/24	37.6[4]	29.4%[4]	-0.52[4]
2022/23	40.8[7]	35%[7]	-0.56[7]
2021/22	43.9[8]	42%[8]	-0.43[8]

A level (16–18)

A-level average grade: C+ 2024/25[3]
All results, 2020/21: Not published (exams cancelled, COVID-19)[9]
All results, 2019/20: Not published (exams cancelled, COVID-19)[9]

Earlier years
Year	A-level average grade
2023/24	C+[10]
2022/23	C-[11]
2021/22	C-[12]
2018/19	D[13]

Destinations after GCSEs

Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment: 85% 2022/23[14]
School sixth form: 44% 2022/23[14]
Sixth-form college: 0% 2022/23[14]
Further education college: 35% 2022/23[14]
Apprenticeship: 3% 2022/23[14]
Employment: 2% 2022/23[14]

Earlier leavers
Left in	Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment	School sixth form	Sixth-form college	Further education college	Apprenticeship	Employment
2021/22	93%[15]	42%[15]	0%[15]	42%[15]	4%[15]	4%[15]
2020/21	93%[16]	49%[16]	0%[16]	38%[16]	1%[16]	4%[16]
2019/20	94%[17]	53%[17]	0%[17]	36%[17]	2%[17]	2%[17]
2018/19	94%[18]	52%[18]	0%[18]	31%[18]	6%[18]	5%[18]

Destinations after 16–18 study

Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment: 76% 2022/23[19]
UK higher education: 41% 2022/23[19]
Education: 41% 2022/23[19]
Apprenticeship: 2% 2022/23[19]
Employment: 32% 2022/23[19]

Earlier leavers
Left in	Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment	UK higher education	Education	Apprenticeship	Employment
2021/22	81%[20]	33%[20]	41%[20]	4%[20]	37%[20]
2020/21	80%[21]	27%[21]	31%[21]	4%[21]	45%[21]
2019/20	64%[22]	36%[22]	45%[22]	5%[22]	14%[22]
2018/19	84%[23]	26%[23]	39%[23]	8%[23]	37%[23]

Higher education after 16–18 study

Progressed to higher education: 51% 2021/22[24]
Top third of most selective universities: 6% 2021/22[24]
Russell Group universities: 0% 2019/20[25]
Oxford or Cambridge: 0% 2019/20[25]

Earlier leavers
Left in	Progressed to higher education	Top third of most selective universities	Russell Group universities	Oxford or Cambridge
2020/21	41%[26]	2%[26]
2019/20	44%[25]	0%[25]	0%[25]	0%[25]
2018/19	37%[27]	3%[27]	0%[27]	0%[27]
2017/18	47%[28]	6%[28]	0%[28]	0%[28]

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: 12 Mar 2024[29]
Type: S5 Inspection[29]
Report published: 24 Apr 2024[29]
Personal development: Good[29]
Quality of education: Good[29]
Overall effectiveness: Good[29]
Behaviour and attitudes: Good[29]
Safeguarding is effective: Yes[29]
Sixth form provision (where applicable): Good[29]
Effectiveness of leadership and management: Good[29]

Earlier inspections
Inspection	Type	Overall
13 Dec 2022[30]	Section 8 inspection of good and outstanding schools[30]	No overall grade[30]

Competition to get in

Applications and offers, Year 7

Applications per place: 2.6 Entry Sept 2026[31]
Applications (any preference): 513 Entry Sept 2026[31]
First preferences: 170 Entry Sept 2026[31]
Places offered: 197 Entry Sept 2026[31]
First preferences per place: 0.9 Entry Sept 2026[31]

Earlier years
Entry	Applications	First preferences	Places offered	Per place	First preferences per place
Entry Sept 2025	473[31]	169[31]	207[31]	2.3[31]	0.8[31]
Entry Sept 2024	445[31]	152[31]	179[31]	2.5[31]	0.8[31]
Entry Sept 2023	588[31]	247[31]	198[31]	3.0[31]	1.2[31]
Entry Sept 2022	513[31]	230[31]	199[31]	2.6[31]	1.2[31]

Admissions

Places (published admission number), 11+ entry: 190 Entry Sept 2027[32]

Character & practicalities

Type: Academy converter[1]
Ages: 11–18[1]
Boys / girls: Mixed[1]
Admissions: Non-selective[1]
Sixth form: Yes[1]
Boarding: No boarders[1]
Capacity: 1220[1]
Trust: SWALE ACADEMIES TRUST[1]
Local authority: Kent[1]
Website: www.thewhitstableschool.org.uk [1]
District: Canterbury [33]
Postcode: CT5 1PX[1]
URN: 144354[1]

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

Pupils

Number on roll: 1109 2024/25[34]
English as an additional language: 1.8% 2024/25[34]
SEN support: 12.9% 2024/25[34]
EHC plan: 3% 2024/25[34]
Free school meals in the last 6 years: 27% 2024/25[34]

Pupils' ethnicity 2025/26

White: 93%[35]
Mixed: 4.8%[35]
Asian: 0.7%[35]
Black: 1.1%[35]
Any other ethnic group: 0%[35]
Unclassified: 0.4%[35]

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: Performance tables schools data (explore education statistics). Period 2025/26, provisional, published 2026-10-15. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS5 (16-18) 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: 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 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: A level and other 16 to 18 results 2020/21. Period 2020/21. Archived copy; original. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Quote
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and alternative processes were set up to award grades.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS5 (16-18) final. Period 2023/24, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS5 (16-18) final. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS5 (16-18) final. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS5 (16-18) final. Period 2018/19, 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.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 destinations. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 destinations. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 destinations. Period 2020/21, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 destinations. Period 2019/20, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 destinations. Period 2018/19, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 progression to higher education. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 progression to higher education. Period 2019/20, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 progression to higher education. Period 2020/21, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 progression to higher education. Period 2018/19, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: 16-18 progression to higher education. Period 2017/18, 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 2022/23. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Primary and secondary school applications and offers: school level. Period Entry Sept 2026, final, published 2026-06-29. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
thewhitstableschool.org.uk: thewhitstableschool.org.uk document (PDF). Period 2026-10-16. Licence: copyright-quoted.
Quote
Numbers Admitted The Published Admissions Number for the school is 190 Applications for Admission A. (p. 3)
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.