Foundation special school

Elms School

Mixed · ages 5–16Kent, South East · Dover CT17 9PSTrust: Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (Ksent)School website
Pupils on roll
131
Free school meals
79.4%
Year 11 cohort 2025
21
Ofsted
School remains Good, 14 March 2023Read the Ofsted report
What the data says

Of the 19 pupils who finished Year 11 at Elms School in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 26% to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.

Almost every leaver found a sustained destination: only 0% were not in education, work or training six months on, against 6% nationally.

Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and 5% went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.

Elms School is a special school: its GCSE figures (Attainment 8 of 4.8, 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.

Elms School
Kent
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureElms SchoolKentEngland
Pupils in the cohort1917,954607,348
Any sustained destination84%93%92%
Stayed in education79%88%86%
— school sixth form0%56%34%
— sixth form college0%13%
— further education college26%28%37%
— other education53%4%2%
Apprenticeship0%3%3%
Employment5%2%3%
No sustained destination0%5%6%
Destination unknown16%3%3%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureElms SchoolKentEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)4.846.746.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths0%47%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths0%65%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects0%47%41%
EBacc average point score0.174.184.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort95%25%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils32.234.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils51.550.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language0%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.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
Mathematics1990%88%0%22%5%
Fine Art1676%9%0%28%25%
English Language1676%89%0%20%0%
Textiles733%2%0%27%14%
Graphic Communication629%1%0%23%0%
3D Design524%2%16%

Other secondary schools in Kent

Astor Secondary School

Academy converter · sixth form · 732 pupils

72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 27.9

Aylesford School

Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 916 pupils

73% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.6

Borden Grammar School

Academy converter · sixth form · 938 pupils

94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 63.2

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.