Folkestone, Kent · Kent
The Harvey Grammar School
A rare below-average A-level value-added score sits oddly against an Outstanding Ofsted rating and strong GCSE results — a genuine, DfE-confirmed tension worth knowing.
Founded in 1674, one of Kent's older grammar foundations, Harvey offers boys a dual eligibility route — its own school-set entrance test, targeting roughly the top 25% of the national age cohort, or the standard Kent Test. Its own admissions policy confirms no superselective banding: oversubscription runs through ordinary priority categories, not a higher score bar. One genuine surprise worth flagging: despite an Outstanding Ofsted rating and GCSE results well above national averages, DfE's own 2025 A-level value-added measure for Harvey is statistically significantly below average — a real tension between key stages that a family shouldn't assume away.
Key facts
- Gender
- boys
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- South East
- Local authority
- Kent
- Established
- 1674
- DfE URN
- 138480
- Website
- https://www.harveygs.kent.sch.uk
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- Dual route: the school's own entrance tests (no external board named in its own policy; some tutoring sites label this the 'Shepway Test' and attribute it to CEM/Cambridge Select, though this isn't confirmed by the school itself), or the Kent Test (GL Assessment reported as paper-setter, not confirmed by KCC directly).partly verified
GL Assessment for the Kent Test, and CEM/Cambridge Select for the school's own alternative test, are both sourced only from secondary/tutoring sites, not from the school or KCC directly.
- Test format
- The school's own tests: Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning plus KS2-style English and Maths papers, targeting approximately the top 25% of the national age cohort — no published raw cut score. Kent Test (alternative route): the standard English & Maths paper plus a Reasoning paper, with an unmarked writing task for borderline cases.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- The school's own test sets no numeric aggregate — only a qualitative standard of roughly the top 25% nationally. For the Kent Test route, the county-wide figure from other Kent grammar research (a recent cycle: aggregate 332, no component below 108) wasn't independently re-confirmed against Kent County Council's own site during this specific research.partly verified
The Kent Test county-wide figure wasn't freshly re-confirmed against Kent County Council's own site during this research (automated access was blocked).
- Superselective?
- No
Confirmed directly from the school's own determined admissions policy: beyond the basic eligibility bar (either route), oversubscription is resolved by four ordinary ranked criteria — looked-after children, Pupil Premium boys in-district, other in-district boys by distance, then other qualifying boys by distance. No banding structure or higher secondary threshold exists.
Catchment & priority criteria
A defined priority area — the District of Folkestone and Hythe (formerly Shepway) — receives priority in oversubscription, but it isn't exclusive: boys from outside the district remain eligible and can be admitted if places remain.
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children
- Pupil Premium-eligible boys resident in the District of Folkestone and Hythe
- Other boys resident in the District of Folkestone and Hythe, ranked by distance
- Other qualifying boys from outside the district, ranked by distance; random draw as final tie-break
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 62.9 | 85.6% | +0.24 ('Above average', confidence interval +0.01 to +0.48) | — | — |
| A specific A-level breakdown for this year couldn't be retrieved during this research. | |||||
| 2025 | 61.8 (Kent LA average 46.7, England state-funded average 46.1) | 85.5% (Kent LA 47.0%, England 45.4%) | Not calculated — no KS2 baseline data for this cohort nationally | verify with school | verify with school |
| A-level (DfE-confirmed): average point score 33.2 (Kent average 34.87, England 36.1), average grade for a student's best 3 A-levels 'C+' (Kent and England both 'B-'), AAB+ with 2 facilitating subjects 13.2% (Kent 17.3%, England 17.5%), retention 96.8%. The A-level progress score was -0.16, banded 'below average' with a confidence interval (-0.29 to -0.03) entirely below the England average of -0.03 — a statistically significant result that sits in real tension with the school's strong GCSE outcomes and Outstanding Ofsted rating. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Outstanding, in every judged area. The previous inspection (2016) also rated the school Outstanding.
- Date
- 13 December 2022
- Report
- Read the full report
Sources
- 1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, LA — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/138480
- 2. School's own Admissions Policy (approved December 2024, September 2026 entry) — https://www.harveygs.kent.sch.uk/static/policies/admissions-policy2026.pdf
- 3. Ofsted report, inspected 13 December 2022 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50207643
- 4. School's own homepage — founded 1674 — https://www.harveygs.kent.sch.uk
- 5. School's own Exam Results page — https://www.harveygs.kent.sch.uk/performance/exam-results/
- 6. DfE Compare School Performance — Progress 8, 2023 and 2024 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/138480/the-harvey-grammar-school/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024
- 7. DfE Compare School Performance — Advanced level qualifications — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/138480/the-harvey-grammar-school/16-to-18/advanced-level-qualifications
Last updated 2026-08-31. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.