Cranbrook School

Cranbrook School is a high-performing secondary school with a sixth form and boarding provision. Inspectors found the school strongest in pupils’ achievement, attendance and behaviour, and post-16 provision. Pupils achieve highly across the curriculum and in public examinations, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, and they are well prepared for further study, employment or training. Attendance is consistently above national averages, behaviour is calm and respectful, and safeguarding standards are met. Pupils are proud of their school, feel safe and supported, and benefit from strong pastoral care, an extensive enrichment programme and a well-planned careers programme. The sixth form is ambitious, with students taking on leadership roles and acting as role models. Inclusion is a clear priority, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are well supported, although the school has only recently begun reviewing the precise impact of some support and training. Leaders have a clear vision and staff, parents and governors are positive. The main areas for improvement are ensuring teachers consistently check pupils’ understanding before moving on, strengthening pupils’ knowledge in some aspects of citizenship, and making sure governors check progress against improvement priorities with more precision. Leaders should also continue monitoring the impact of inclusion training and the wider personal development programme.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve highly across the curriculum and in GCSE and A-level examinations.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND achieve above national averages and are well supported.
• Pupils produce high-quality written work and use technical vocabulary accurately.
• Attendance is consistently high and above national averages, including for pupils with SEND and sixth-form students.
• Behaviour is calm, focused and respectful, with bullying and discriminatory language rare.
• The sixth form offers an ambitious academic curriculum and strong preparation for next steps.
• Teaching in the sixth form is highly effective and uses expert subject knowledge.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and appropriately challenging.
• Personal development, pastoral care and careers guidance are well designed and effective.
• An extensive enrichment programme, clubs, trips and leadership opportunities are available.
• Leaders have a clear strategic vision and staff feel well supported.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Some variability remains in how precisely teachers check pupils’ understanding before moving on.
• As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could.
• Pupils’ knowledge in some aspects of the citizenship curriculum is not as secure as it could be.
• Governors do not always check how well leaders are achieving improvement priorities with enough precision.
• Leaders have only recently begun evaluating the impact of support for vulnerable pupils with precision.
• Leaders should continue to monitor whether inclusion training consistently improves inclusive teaching and reduces barriers.

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 Cranbrook School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 11.2% 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, 2.2% of pupils at Cranbrook School 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 Cranbrook School had 18.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.6% 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, 1.9% of pupils at Cranbrook School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 2024–25 Cranbrook School received £11,596 and spent £11,863 for each of its 918 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £28,000 (£31 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

What is Cranbrook School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cranbrook School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Cranbrook School last inspected by Ofsted?

Cranbrook School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Cranbrook School have?

Cranbrook School has 958 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cranbrook School cover?

Cranbrook School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Cranbrook School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 68.3, and 89% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Cranbrook School?

Cranbrook School is at Waterloo Road, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 3JD.