The Folkestone School for Girls

The Folkestone School for Girls is currently rated as good overall, building on its previous outstanding inspection. The school effectively nurtures pupils to develop self-confidence and offers a broad curriculum with many enriching opportunities, resulting in exceptionally good behavior and attitudes among students. The leadership provides purposeful training and support, fostering a strong academic environment where students thrive and progress into higher education or employment. However, the trustees need to improve their oversight roles and the mathematics curriculum requires refinement to enhance student learning outcomes.

Strengths

• Exceptional behavior and attitudes of pupils.
• Broad range of extracurricular opportunities enhancing student development.
• Strong support for students with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Effective careers programme preparing students for future opportunities.
• Meticulous curriculum design in the sixth form leading to exceptional student progress.

Areas for Improvement

• New trustees lack expertise to provide effective challenge for school improvement.
• Mathematics curriculum does not sufficiently promote mathematical fluency.

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 The Folkestone School for Girls attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.7% 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, 0.9% of pupils at The Folkestone School for Girls 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 The Folkestone School for Girls had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.3% 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, 7.2% of pupils at The Folkestone School for Girls were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.2% 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 The Folkestone School for Girls received £6,843 and spent £6,975 for each of its 1,159 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,729,000 (£2,355 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 Folkestone · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is The Folkestone School for Girls's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Folkestone School for Girls is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was The Folkestone School for Girls last inspected by Ofsted?

The Folkestone School for Girls was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does The Folkestone School for Girls have?

The Folkestone School for Girls has 1,145 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Folkestone School for Girls cover?

The Folkestone School for Girls for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Folkestone School for Girls's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 62.3, and 81% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Folkestone School for Girls?

The Folkestone School for Girls is at Coolinge Lane, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 3RB.