Gravesend Grammar School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school The school's motto of 'consule cunctis' meaning care for all permeates all aspects of the school's work. It fuels the powerful drive for excellence of the executive headteacher and the governors and is understood and shared by all members of the school community.

Students' behaviour is exceptional in and outside the classroom. Relationships are a particular strength of the school. They are marked by respect and care for everyone with the result that students thrive academically and personally.

Students feel extremely safe in school as a result of the very robust arrangements for safeguarding, the teaching they receive about keepin...g safe and of the quality of relationships that the school creates. The curriculum is challenging. It is rigorously academic and is enriched by provision for the arts and by an excellent programme of extra curricular opportunities.

Staff share the headteacher's vision; they are dedicated to the students' success. Staff benefit from the school's care for their personal and professional development. They rise to the challenge of the very high expectations of them and they contribute generously to all of the enrichment activities the school provides.

Teaching is outstanding as a result of teachers' deep subject knowledge. Teachers have the highest expectations for all of the students. Staff benefit from an excellent training programme that makes sure all are up to date and always developing their expertise.

All of the students attain very high standards and make excellent progress as a result of the quality of the teaching they receive and as a result of their own ambition and positive attitudes to learning. The sixth form provides an excellent preparation for students' next steps in life whether at university or in training and employment. Students value highly the opportunities for academic study and the exceptional quality of the wider experiences they are offered for leadership and enrichment.

The arrangements the school makes for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the students are a particular strength. They prepare students thoroughly as responsible and informed citizens, ready to take their place in life in modern society, with a strong understanding of British values. Governors are highly ambitious for the school and use their expertise to challenge performance and thus contribute strongly to the school's very effective drive for continuous improvement.

Information about this school

The school is a larger than average selective school for boys aged 11-18. Girls may join the sixth form from local schools and a small number, around 40, join each year. The school is part of a multi academy trust, the Gravesend Grammar School Trust, and is federated with a local primary school called Whitehill Primary School.

Both schools share the same Trust Board. A very small proportion of the students, around 5%, is eligible for the pupil premium grant that is provided by the government for students in local authority care and for those known to be eligible for free school meals. This proportion is well below the national average.

There are no students eligible for the Year 7 catch-up grant that supports students in Year 7 who have not reached the expected levels in English and mathematics at age 11. Most students in the school are of White British heritage. Around one third of the students are from an ethnic minority group, the largest being Indian and Black African.

Very few students have a disability or any form of special educational needs. The school does not use any form of alternative provision. The school meets the government's floor standards that set minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress.