Borden Grammar School

Borden Grammar School is a strong school overall, with inspectors judging it to be working above expected standards in most areas. Pupils achieve well: GCSE results are consistently above national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, and attendance and behaviour are excellent. Inclusion is at the heart of the school, and leadership and governance are highly effective, with staff feeling well supported and parents very positive. Safeguarding standards are met. The main areas for development are in the consistency of teaching and assessment, where gaps in learning are not always identified quickly enough, and in post-16 provision, where students achieve in line with national averages rather than above. Leaders have already raised expectations for the most able pupils, but the next step is to embed these approaches further so that higher attainers and sixth-form students achieve even more. The school is part of the Borden Grammar School Trust and has a low proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and with SEND compared with national averages.

Strengths

• Pupils develop deep and secure knowledge across the curriculum.
• GCSE results are consistently above the national average.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND achieve as well as their peers.
• Attendance rates for all groups are consistently above national averages.
• Pupils' behaviour in lessons is impressive with almost no low-level disruption.
• Bullying is very rare and dealt with extremely quickly.
• Inclusion is at the heart of the school with quick and precise identification of needs.
• Leaders and trustees are highly effective and hold each other to account.
• Staff feel extremely well supported and valued.
• Personal development curriculum is well-designed, ambitious and inspiring.
• The careers programme is a strength, with high-quality workplace experiences.
• Sixth-form students have a wide range of leadership opportunities.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment is not always used precisely, so gaps in learning are not always addressed in a timely way.
• Historically, teaching did not help the most able pupils make as much progress as they should.
• Sixth-form students achieve in line with national averages rather than above.
• A-level value added is close to average or below average.
• Curriculum and teaching are graded expected standard.
• Post-16 provision is graded expected standard.
• Leaders need to continue embedding consistent approaches to teaching and assessment to improve higher attainers' and sixth-form achievement.

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 Borden Grammar School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 6.6% 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, 1.8% of pupils at Borden Grammar 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 Borden Grammar School had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.6% 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, 2.6% of pupils at Borden Grammar School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.7% 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 Borden Grammar School received £6,485 and spent £6,881 for each of its 928 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £649,000 (£699 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 Sittingbourne · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Borden Grammar School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Borden Grammar School last inspected by Ofsted?

Borden Grammar School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Borden Grammar School have?

Borden Grammar School has 938 pupils on roll.

What age range does Borden Grammar School cover?

Borden Grammar School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Borden Grammar School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 62.7, and 83% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Borden Grammar School?

Borden Grammar School is at Avenue of Remembrance, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4DB.