Which school has the best GCSE results in Canterbury?

On 2026 Attainment 8, Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys tops the table in Canterbury with 69.4, against an England average of 46.2. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so compare a school's grade 5+ pass rate and, where published, its Progress 8 before reading the rank as a verdict.

When are the 2026 GCSE results for Canterbury schools published?

Pupils receive their results in August, but school-by-school figures come from the DfE performance tables, which publish provisional results in the autumn (usually mid-October) and revised figures early in the new year. This table shows 2026 results, the 2025/26 academic year, and updates when the next release is imported.

What is Attainment 8?

Attainment 8 is the DfE's headline GCSE measure: the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. A score of 50 means pupils averaged roughly a grade 5 across those subjects. No Progress 8 exists for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021.

Why does a school in Canterbury show no GCSE results?

A school has no published figure when it had no Year 11 cohort in the year (a new school, or one that opened with younger year groups), when it converted to an academy and the DfE published results under its previous identity, or when it is independent and its pupils sat IGCSE, Pre-U or IB qualifications that the DfE tables do not count. Independent schools with a published figure are listed separately and unranked for that reason.

Canterbury GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

7 state secondary schools in Canterbury ranked on their 2026 GCSE results (Attainment 8, the 2025/26 academic year, the latest DfE has published for every school), with grade 7+, grade 5+ and grade 4+ in English and maths, cohort size for each school against the England average. 1 school with no published results is listed at the end. 5 independent schools with published results are listed separately, unranked.

Town 8 state secondary schools 2025/26 results

Secondary schools in Canterbury ranked on Attainment 8

7 of 8 schools have published 2026 results. Source: DfE school performance tables, 2025/26.

Secondary schools in Canterbury ranked on Attainment 8, 2026 results
Rank	School	Attainment 8	Grade 7+ English & maths	Grade 5+ English & maths	Grade 4+ English & maths	EBacc APS	Pupils
–	England average	46.2	14%	46%	65%	–	–
1 , up 1 place since 2025	Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys Canterbury · Foundation school	69.4	50%	91%	96%	–	160
2 , up 1 place since 2025	Barton Court Grammar School Canterbury · Academy converter	66.1	43%	86%	97%	–	142
3 , down 2 places since 2025	Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School Canterbury · Voluntary controlled school	66.0	42%	90%	97%	–	174
4	St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury Canterbury · Academy converter	45.0	7%	37%	60%	–	183
5 , up 1 place since 2025	Orion Spires Canterbury · Academy sponsor led	39.2	4%	31%	51%	–	135
6 , down 1 place since 2025	The Canterbury Academy Canterbury · Academy converter	35.2	0%	24%	46%	–	228
7	The Archbishop's School Canterbury · Foundation school	32.1	1%	19%	39%	–	140
–	Barton Manor School Canterbury · Free schools · No published GCSE results	–	–	–	–	–	–

Under each rank: the change since the 2025 table, in places gained (+) or lost (−). No figure means the rank is unchanged or the school had no ranked 2025 result.

Independent schools in Canterbury with published GCSE results

Listed as published, not ranked. The DfE tables count only reformed GCSEs, so a school whose pupils sit IGCSE, Pre-U or the IB reports a lower figure than its results merit, or none at all. Compare independent schools on their own published examination results and inspection reports.

School	Attainment 8 (as published)	Grade 5+ English & maths	Pupils
Kent College (Canterbury) Canterbury · Other independent school	37.5	2%	101
Kent College International Study Centre Canterbury · Other independent school	14.2	0%	10
St Edmund's School Canterbury Canterbury · Other independent school	43.2	0%	75
The King's School Canterbury Canterbury · Other independent school	15.9	0%	210
The Worthgate School Canterbury · Other independent school	4.9	0%	23

How to read this table

Attainment 8 is the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight GCSE subjects: English and maths (double-weighted), three EBacc subjects (sciences, computing, history, geography, languages) and three further approved qualifications. The DfE publishes it for every state school; the England average for 2026 was 46.2.

Grade 7+ in English and maths is the share of pupils reaching the top grades, 7 to 9, in both; grade 5+ is the "strong pass"; grade 4+ is the "standard pass". The DfE stopped publishing EBacc entry and the EBacc average point score from the 2025/26 results, so that column is empty for 2026.

Progress 8 is not shown: the DfE published no Progress 8 for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021, the baseline it is measured from. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so a selective school will usually top an attainment-only table.

Ranks are shared where scores tie. Schools are ranked here on published results alone; our composite score, which also weighs Ofsted inspection, progress and attendance, orders the same schools on the best secondary schools page.

See the best secondary schools in Canterbury on our composite score

Canterbury GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

Secondary schools in Canterbury ranked on Attainment 8

Independent schools in Canterbury with published GCSE results

More about schools in Canterbury

Canterbury GCSE results: common questions