Ashford, Kent · Kent
The Norton Knatchbull School
Ranks by distance, not score, when oversubscribed — the same structural marker of a non-superselective grammar seen elsewhere in Kent.
Norton Knatchbull requires only that a boy is assessed 'suitable for grammar school' via the standard Kent Test — its own determined admissions policy imposes no elevated pass mark. Crucially, when oversubscribed, the school ranks remaining places by straight-line distance from home, not by Kent Test score: a lower-scoring but closer applicant can be admitted ahead of a higher-scoring, more distant one, which is the structural opposite of how Kent's genuinely superselective grammars operate.
Key facts
- Gender
- boys
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- South East
- Local authority
- Kent
- Established
- 1630
- DfE URN
- 138019
- Website
- https://www.nks.kent.sch.uk
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- The Kent Test, commissioned county-wide by Kent County Council. GL Assessment is widely reported by tuition/secondary sources as the paper-setter, but is not named on KCC's own official Kent Test webpages.partly verified
GL Assessment is consistently reported by tuition/secondary sources, but not named on Kent County Council's own official Kent Test pages.
- Test format
- Two multiple-choice, computer-marked papers: a combined English & Maths paper (1 hour), and a Reasoning paper covering verbal and non-verbal reasoning (about 1 hour). A separate 40-minute writing task is also sat but only used by headteacher panels for borderline or appeal decisions.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- No requirement above the Kent-wide grammar threshold (a recent cycle: aggregate 332, no component below 108) — the school's own determined policy requires only that a boy 'has taken the Kent Test and [is] assessed as suitable for grammar school.' Year 7 PAN is 210; Sixth Form PAN is 165 in each of Year 12 and Year 13.
- Superselective?
- No
The school's own current and prior determined admissions policies impose no elevated pass score, and — the decisive structural marker — oversubscription is resolved by straight-line distance, not by ranking on Kent Test score. A lower-scoring, closer applicant can be admitted ahead of a higher-scoring, more distant one, which is how ordinary Kent grammars are distinguished from superselective ones.
Catchment & priority criteria
No defined catchment or priority area. After Looked-After/Pupil-Premium/sibling/health criteria, all remaining places go by straight-line distance from home to school (measured via the National Land and Property Gazetteer), county-wide, with no postcode or parish tiering.
- Children with an EHCP naming the school who meet its entry requirements
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children
- Pupil Premium-eligible children (registered for Free School Meals at any point in the last 6 years), via a supplementary form due by 31 October
- Current Family Association — a sibling on roll at the school when the child starts
- Health and Special Access Reasons — documented, significant medical or social need connecting the child specifically to this school
- Nearness of home to school, by straight-line distance
- Tie-break for the last place: independently-verified random allocation
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 67.3 (Kent LA average 46.7, England state-funded average 46.1) | 90.9% | Not calculated by DfE — no KS2 baseline data for this cohort nationally | verify with school | verify with school |
| A-level (16-18 cohort, DfE-confirmed): average grade C+ (34.6 points per entry) vs Kent state-funded C+ (34.87) vs England all schools/colleges B- (36.1); AAB+ with facilitating subjects 11.5% vs Kent 17.3% vs England 17.5%; progress score -0.01 (statistically average); retention 95.6%. DfE's current tables no longer publish a simple A*-A/A*-B grade-band breakdown for A-levels. | |||||
| 2024 | 64.2 (Kent LA average 47, England state-funded average 45.9) | 85.9% | +0.79 (confidence interval +0.12 to +0.52 — as reported), banding 'Above average'. Kent LA -0.14, England -0.03. | — | — |
| Last GCSE cohort before the nationwide COVID-era Progress 8 gap begins. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Good in all five judged areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This was a full graded inspection.
- Date
- 13-14 December 2023
- Report
- Read the full report
Sources
- 1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, LA, capacity — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/138019
- 2. Current determined admissions policy 2026/2027 — https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/184342/Norton-Knatchbull-School-admissions-criteria-2026-2027.pdf
- 3. School's own history page — founded c.1630, renamed 1975 — https://www.nks.kent.sch.uk/page/?title=Our+School+History&pid=15
- 4. Ofsted report, inspected 13-14 December 2023 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50238591
- 5. DfE Compare School Performance — results over time — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/138019/the-norton-knatchbull-school/secondary/results-over-time
- 6. DfE Compare School Performance — Progress 8, 2022/23 and 2023/24 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/138019/the-norton-knatchbull-school/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024
- 7. DfE Compare School Performance — Advanced level qualifications, 2025 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/138019/the-norton-knatchbull-school/16-to-18/advanced-level-qualifications
- 8. Kent County Council — Kent Test qualifying threshold — https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places/kent-test/kent-test-results
Last updated 2026-08-30. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.