Towers School and Sixth Form CentreThe Norton Knatchbull School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Ashford.
Summary of the comparison
Towers School and Sixth Form Centre and The Norton Knatchbull School are secondary schools in Ashford.
Towers School and Sixth Form Centre scores 50 out of 100 (grade D, below average) and The Norton Knatchbull School scores 71 out of 100 (grade B, strong). The Norton Knatchbull School is ahead on our composite score.
Towers School and Sixth Form Centre was judged the expected standard and The Norton Knatchbull School was judged Good.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 40.6 for Towers School and Sixth Form Centre and 67.3 for The Norton Knatchbull School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Towers School and Sixth Form Centre (43.6 in 2021-22, 40.6 in 2024-25) and has held broadly level at The Norton Knatchbull School (67.1 in 2021-22, 67.3 in 2024-25).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | AshfordTowers School and Sixth Form Centre | AshfordThe Norton Knatchbull School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | D50/100 | B71/100Stronger figure | |
| Local ranking | 67th of 102 in Kent | 25th of 102 in Kent Stronger figure | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Good | Ofsted: Good | |
| School type | Academy converter | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-19 | 11-18 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Boys | |
| Pupils on roll | 1,559 | 1,289 | |
| Capacity | 1,625 | 1,316 | |
| Location | Ashford, TN24 9AL | Ashford, TN24 0QJ | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 40.6 | 67.3 Stronger figure | 46.0 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 29.3% | 90.9% Stronger figure | 45.4% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 54.1% | 97.1% Stronger figure | 64.8% |
| Entering EBacc | 66.2% | 98.6% Stronger figure | 40.5% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.74 | 6.52 Stronger figure | 4.09 |
| Cohort | 266 | 208 | |
| A-level results | |||
| A-level entries | 37 | 130 | |
| A-level average points | 29.0 | 34.6 Stronger figure | 35.0 |
| A-level average grade | C | C+ | |
| Best 3 A-levels points | 28.6 | 34.2 Stronger figure | 35.8 |
| AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects | 14.3% Stronger figure | 11.5% | 17.5% |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 1,559 | 1,289 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 30.2% | 10.4% | |
| English as an additional language | 15.1% | 17.8% | |
| SEN support | 10.4% | 1.4% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 1.5% | 0.6% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 9.5% | 4.0% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 32.9% | 6.7% Stronger figure | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
A-level average points
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
Towers School and Sixth Form Centre
The Norton Knatchbull School
Full profiles: Towers School and Sixth Form Centre · The Norton Knatchbull School