Astor Secondary School
Academy converter · sixth form · 732 pupils
72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 27.9
Foundation special school
The Beacon Folkestone
- Pupils on roll
- 469of 354 places
- Free school meals
- 53.1%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 35
- Ofsted
- School remains Outstanding, 6 June 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Foxwood School (URN 119057, until 1 September 2015).
What the data says
Of the 33 pupils who finished Year 11 at The Beacon Folkestone in 2023, 0% stayed on in The Beacon Folkestone’s own sixth form (Kent average 56%), none went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and none went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.
The Beacon Folkestone is a special school: its GCSE figures (Attainment 8 of 0.3, 0% with grade 5 or above in English and maths) are published by DfE for completeness and are not comparable with mainstream schools.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Kent and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Beacon Folkestone | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 33 | 17,954 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 97% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 97% | 88% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 56% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 0% | 28% | 37% |
| — other education | 97% | 4% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 3% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Beacon Folkestone | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 0.3 | 46.7 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 47% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 65% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 0% | 47% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 0.00 | 4.18 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 69% | 25% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 0.3 | 32.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 0.3 | 51.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 9% | 12% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art and Design | 5 | 14% | 7% | — | 24% | — |
Other secondary schools in Kent
Aylesford School
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 916 pupils
73% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.6
Barton Court Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 995 pupils
97% stayed in education · Attainment 8 66.4
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,913 pupils
95% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.0
Borden Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 938 pupils
94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 63.2
Brockhill Park Performing Arts College
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,314 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.4
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.