The Charles Dickens School[1]

Secondary · ages 11–18

Headline results

Attainment 8: A8 43 42.8 2025/26[2]

Results

GCSE (key stage 4)

Attainment 8: 42.8 2025/26[2]
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 29.5% 2025/26[2]
Grade 7+ in English & maths: 2.5% 2025/26[2]
Progress 8: +0.22 2023/24[3]
Progress 8, 2025/26: Not calculated[4]
Progress 8, 2024/25: Not calculated[4]

Earlier years
Year	Attainment 8	Grade 5+ in English & maths	Progress 8
2024/25	42.5[5]	28.6%[5]
2023/24	43.9[3]	30.8%[3]	+0.22[3]
2022/23	41.7[6]	30%[6]	+0.06[6]
2021/22	43.9[7]	28%[7]	-0.13[7]

Destinations after GCSEs

Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment: 89% 2022/23[8]
School sixth form: 23% 2022/23[8]
Sixth-form college: 0% 2022/23[8]
Further education college: 61% 2022/23[8]
Apprenticeship: 2% 2022/23[8]
Employment: 1% 2022/23[8]

Earlier leavers
Left in	Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment	School sixth form	Sixth-form college	Further education college	Apprenticeship	Employment
2021/22	88%[9]	32%[9]	0%[9]	51%[9]		4%[9]
2020/21	90%[10]	24%[10]	0%[10]	56%[10]	3%[10]	7%[10]
2019/20	88%[11]	31%[11]	0%[11]	51%[11]	4%[11]	2%[11]
2018/19	91%[12]	25%[12]	0%[12]	59%[12]	3%[12]	3%[12]

Shares of the pupils who left in the year shown. Russell Group and Oxford or Cambridge figures were published for leavers up to 2019/20 only.

Ofsted

Latest inspection: 28 Mar 2023[13]
Type: Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1[13]
Report published: 24 May 2023[13]
Personal development: Good[13]
Quality of education: Good[13]
Overall effectiveness: Good[13]
Behaviour and attitudes: Good[13]
Safeguarding is effective: Yes[13]
Effectiveness of leadership and management: Good[13]

Earlier inspections
Inspection	Type	Overall
25 Jun 2019[14]	Academy First Section 5[14]	Requires improvement[14]

Competition to get in

Applications and offers, Year 7

Applications per place: 3.9 Entry Sept 2026[15]
Applications (any preference): 887 Entry Sept 2026[15]
First preferences: 288 Entry Sept 2026[15]
Places offered: 227 Entry Sept 2026[15]
First preferences per place: 1.3 Entry Sept 2026[15]

Earlier years
Entry	Applications	First preferences	Places offered	Per place	First preferences per place
Entry Sept 2025	868[15]	285[15]	225[15]	3.9[15]	1.3[15]
Entry Sept 2024	765[15]	220[15]	225[15]	3.4[15]	1.0[15]
Entry Sept 2023	744[15]	225[15]	221[15]	3.4[15]	1.0[15]
Entry Sept 2022	684[15]	214[15]	222[15]	3.1[15]	1.0[15]

Character & practicalities

Type: Academy sponsor led[1]
Ages: 11–18[1]
Boys / girls: Mixed[1]
Admissions: Non-selective[1]
Sixth form: Yes[1]
Boarding: No boarders[1]
Capacity: 1104[1]
Trust: BARTON COURT ACADEMY TRUST[1]
Local authority: Kent[1]
Website: www.cds.kent.sch.uk [1]
District: Thanet [16]
Postcode: CT10 2RL[1]
URN: 144015[1]

School details as recorded in Get Information About Schools on 14 Oct 2026.

Pupils

Number on roll: 1113 2024/25[17]
English as an additional language: 8.2% 2024/25[17]
SEN support: 16.6% 2024/25[17]
EHC plan: 2.5% 2024/25[17]
Free school meals in the last 6 years: 43% 2024/25[17]

Pupils' ethnicity 2025/26

White: 88.9%[18]
Mixed: 5.7%[18]
Asian: 1.4%[18]
Black: 1.2%[18]
Any other ethnic group: 1.4%[18]
Unclassified: 1.3%[18]

The school census's major ethnic groups as shares of the school's pupils, summed by us from the published counts. For information only: never used to rank, filter or colour schools.

Sources

Department for Education: Get Information About Schools: all establishments. Period 2026-10-14, published 2026-10-14. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Performance tables schools data (explore education statistics). Period 2025/26, provisional, published 2026-10-15. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2023/24, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Key stage 4 performance 2024/25: data guidance. Period 2024/25. Archived copy; original. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Quote
It is not possible to calculate Progress 8 for academic years 2024/25 and 2025/26 due to gaps in the baseline caused by COVID-19 disruption.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2020/21, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2019/20, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2018/19, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2022/23. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2018/19. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Primary and secondary school applications and offers: school level. Period Entry Sept 2026, final, published 2026-06-29. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Office for National Statistics: Parish to Ward to Local Authority District (May 2026) Lookup in EW. Period 2026-05-01. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: School census. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Schools, pupils and their characteristics: school level underlying data. Period 2025/26, published 2026-06-04. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.