Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys provides an outstanding education for its pupils, including sixth-form students. Inspectors found the curriculum exceptional, teaching highly expert, and support for pupils with SEND or English as an additional language highly effective, so pupils achieve extremely highly. Behaviour and attitudes are excellent, personal development is excellent, and sixth-form provision is outstanding; leadership and management is good. Pupils benefit from warm relationships, a wide range of trips, clubs and societies, strong pastoral care, high attendance and a well-organised careers programme. The school's inclusive approach, including its specially resourced autism provision, was praised. The main areas for improvement concern communication and some leadership systems. Some parents said communications can be confusing, defensive or dismissive, and the school needs to share information, including about formal complaints, in a timely, constructive and clear way. Safeguarding is effective, but some records do not identify issues clearly enough and staff are occasionally unsure whether a concern is behavioural or safeguarding, which can make it harder to spot patterns. Leaders have improved monitoring and are using new information to target support, but they should ensure this data is consistently used to identify trends and drive further improvement. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2013; it is a selective boys' grammar school with a mixed sixth form and a specially resourced provision for pupils with autism. Under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade was awarded.

Strengths

• Exceptional curriculum that develops deep knowledge and a love of learning
• Expert teachers who check understanding and adapt learning effectively
• Highly effective support for pupils with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language
• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve extremely highly and are fully included
• Excellent behaviour and warm, positive relationships across the school
• Outstanding personal development, including strong pastoral care and well-being support
• Wide range of trips, clubs and pupil-led societies
• Inclusive approach to sport and strong equalities work
• Well-organised careers education and guidance
• High attendance and effective support for pupils who struggle to attend
• Outstanding sixth-form provision where students settle quickly and achieve strong destinations
• Staff feel well supported with workload and high-quality mentoring
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Strong academic research projects and real-world problem-solving opportunities

Areas for Improvement

• Communication with parents and stakeholders can be confusing, defensive or dismissive
• Information, including about formal complaints, is not always shared in a timely, constructive and clear way
• Some safeguarding records do not identify issues clearly enough
• Staff are occasionally unsure whether to categorise concerns as behaviour or safeguarding
• Leaders do not yet consistently use monitoring information to identify trends and patterns
• Some aspects of leadership and management still need sharpening

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 14.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.8% of pupils at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 1.0% of pupils at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 35 pupils.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys received £7,769 and spent £7,979 for each of its 1,239 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £200,000 (£161 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Canterbury · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys last inspected by Ofsted?

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys have?

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys has 1,226 pupils on roll.

What age range does Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys cover?

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 69.4, and 91% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys?

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys is at Langton Lane, Nackington Road, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 7AS.