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State secondary · 11 to 18 · Mixed · 997 pupils

Turner Free School

Tile Kiln Lane, Cheriton, Folkestone, CT19 4PB · Kent
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COULD YOUR CHILD GET IN? · YEAR 7 2027

We hold no offer-day distances for this school yet. Enter your postcode to see how far it is from your home.

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Ofsted: Good · December 2022(60/94)About one first choice per place (2026)
School website ↗Google Maps ↗Directions ↗Ofsted reports ↗DfE results ↗Government register ↗

Summary

The key facts, in one place
GCSE (key stage 4) The league rank: the school's place among its council's schools of the same phase on the newest year's DfE results, the same rank as on the Schools map. In England: 2,696th of 3,223 on the same figure. Band: Lower half.
(60/94)Rank among 94 Kent secondaries with results, 2026 results (Attainment 8)
See the Kent league table →
Inspection
Good, December 2022
Getting in
Oversubscribed for Year 7 2026
Results
-0.55 progress 8; 39.4 attainment 8
Size
997 pupils; 168 places a year; classes of 20
Run by
Turner Schools
Type
Free schools
Ages
11 to 18 · Mixed
Ofsted, December 2022The judgements from the school's latest inspection. Reports from November 2025 use Ofsted's new report card, with different headings; we show whichever the latest report uses.Read the report ↗
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour and attitudesGood
Leadership and managementGood
Strengths, and things to check
  • Suspensions per 100 pupils: 7.2, against 10.8 in Kent.
  • Progress 8: -0.55, against -0.10 in Kent.
  • Attainment 8: 39.4, against 48.5 in Kent.
  • English and maths, grade 5+: 30%, against 49% in Kent.
Schools for usRank every school near you by the measures that matter to your family, each reason shown.Rank schools →

At a glance

Against Kent and England
This schoolKentEnglandHover or tap a bar for the figures
Academic
Progress 8How far pupils progressed between the end of primary school and GCSEs, against pupils across England who started at the same level. 0 is average; +0.5 means half a grade better in each subject.
-0.55
Worse than Kent
Attainment 8The average GCSE score across eight subjects, including English and maths counted twice. A grade 5 in all eight would score 50.
39.4
Worse than Kent
English and maths, grade 5+The share of pupils with grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE (a strong pass).
30%
Worse than Kent
Attendance and behaviour
Sessions missedHalf-day sessions missed, authorised or not, as a share of all sessions in the school year (DfE pupil absence). Lower is better.
7.9%
In line with Kent
Persistently absentPupils who missed one session in ten or more. Lower is better.
23.8%
In line with Kent
Suspensions per 100 pupilsSuspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Lower is better; one or two incidents move a small school a lot.
7.2
Better than Kent
Pupils and classes
Average class sizeAverage pupils per class, from the school census. Shown for context, not as a score.
20.2
Context
Free school mealsPupils eligible for free school meals. Context for reading the results, not a measure of the school.
43%
Context
Pupils for each teacherPupils on roll for each full-time teacher, from the school workforce census. Shown for context.
16.4
Context
Demand for places
First choices per placeFamilies who put this school first, for each Year 7 place in 2026 (DfE applications and offers). Above 1 means more first choices than places.
1.0
In line with Kent
Kent and England: DfE's own averages for results. For the rest, the middle state secondary school of the same phase, from every school we hold, since DfE publishes no council figure we hold.Where these figures come from →

Overview

Getting in

  • 174 families put it first for 168 places; 148 of them got in DfE, school applications and offers · Year 7 2026
  • We hold no catchment map for this school, so we can't say which addresses are inside it.
  • We can't tell how far Year 7 places reached: we hold no offer-day figures for this school. Ask the council or the school for the last distance offered.

Quality

  • Good Ofsted · inspected 6 December 2022
  • Progress 8: -0.55 (England +0.01) (county -0.10) DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024
  • Attainment 8: 39.4 (England 47.4) (county 48.5) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • English and maths grade 5 or above: 30% (England 48%) (county 49%) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • Progress, set against pupils who started with the same results: well below average DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024

Daily life

  • Absence: 7.9% of sessions missed; 24% of pupils miss 1 in 10 or more. Schools with a similar intake: 9.7% and 29% DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level · 2024/25
  • Suspensions: 7 per 100 pupils (schools with a similar intake: 26); 0 permanent exclusions DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level · 2024/25
  • Classes average 20.2 pupils; 15% of classes have more than 30 DfE, school workforce and pupil census · 2025/26
  • 16.4 pupils for each teacher DfE, school workforce · November 2025
  • Nearest stops, in a straight line: bus 237 m, rail 749 m DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes) · within 800 m
  • 23 police-reported road collisions within 500 m (0 fatal, 7 serious) DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years · 2021 to 2025
  • Air: nitrogen dioxide 7.9 µg/m³, PM2.5 6.7 (1 km square, background level) DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps · 2024

Who runs it

  • Turner Schools, with 8 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined September 2018
  • Opened as an academy (free schools) on 1 September 2018 DfE, open academies list
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Getting in

How far offers reached

How far away the last child offered a place under the distance rule lived, as the council measures it. It changes every year with who applies: a record, not a promise. Children with a higher priority can be offered places from further away.

Year 7. Distance of the last child offered a place on offer day. What the last distance means →

Applications and offers, DfE

EntryYearPlacesFirst choicesAny choiceFirst choices offered
Year 72026168174587148
Year 72025170192577155
Year 72024170184628144
Year 72023169185611145
Year 72022171228591153
Year 72021177140622104
Year 72020175174526146
Year 72019179149502148

Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence), 2019 to 2026. Families name up to three schools, so most applications are somebody's second or third choice.

Could you get in?Enter a home or postcode: we set it against every year's last offer and this school's rules.

Results

Results

MeasureThis schoolEnglandCouncilYear
Progress 8-0.55+0.01-0.102023/2024
Attainment 839.447.448.52025/2026
English and maths grade 5 or above30%48%49%2025/2026
Average A level gradeD+——2024/2025

Source: DfE school performance tables, 2023/2024, 2024/2025, 2025/2026.

League table place

TableLeague rank
GCSE (key stage 4)(60/94)
A level (16 to 18)(60/77)

Source: DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase.

Inspections

DateKindOutcome
6 December 2022Graded inspectionGood

Source: Ofsted, 2022.

Where leavers go

StageLeavers inPupilsIn a sustained placeOf which
After GCSEs2023/2417191%In education 89%; Apprenticeship 1.2%; Employment 0.6%
After GCSEs2022/2312190%In education 79%; Apprenticeship 3.3%; Employment 7.4%

Source: DfE, destination measures. A figure DfE hides for a small group is left out, not shown as nought. The newest year may be provisional.

Kent league tableEvery school of this phase in the council on these results.See the table →

Daily life

Absence

YearSessions missedAuthorisedUnauthorisedPupils missing 1 in 10Pupils missing 1 in 2
2024/257.9%3.5%4.4%24%3.5%
2023/249.9%5.5%4.5%29%5.0%
2022/239.8%2.6%7.2%30%3.2%
Schools with a similar intake9.7%29%

Source: DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level, 2024-25. Similar intake: state schools of the same phase with free school meals in the same band (40% or more), the median of 758 schools.

Suspensions and exclusions

YearSuspensions per 100 pupilsPupils suspendedSuspensionsPermanent exclusions
2024/257.24.2%740
2023/2410.05.6%950
2022/2322.611%1870
Schools with a similar intake25.9

Source: DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level, 2024-25.

Class sizes and staff

MeasureFigureYear
Average class size20.22025/26
Classes over 30 pupils15%2025/26
Pupils for each teacher16.4November 2025

Source: DfE, school workforce; school census, 2025/26.

Stops nearby

KindNearest (metres, straight line)
bus237
rail749

Source: DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes), current. A stop across a railway or main road may be a long walk. Bus frequency is not held.

Road collisions within 500 m

YearCollisions
20255
20244
20233
20228
20213

Source: DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years, 2021 to 2025. 7 serious and 0 fatal in all; 11 involved a pedestrian, 3 a cyclist. Only collisions with an injury reported to police are counted.

Air quality

PollutantAnnual mean (µg/m³)Year
NO27.92024
PM1012.02024
PM256.72024

Source: DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps. A 1 km background figure: not the air at the school gate beside a busy road.

Pupils

Who goes there

MeasureShare of pupilsYear
Eligible for free school meals43%2025/26
First language other than English7.3%2025/26
SEN support23%2025/26
Education, health and care plan6.1%2025/26
Girls49%2025/26

Source: DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs, 2025/26.

Who runs it

Who runs it

  • Turner Schools, with 8 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined September 2018
  • Opened as an academy (free schools) on 1 September 2018 DfE, open academies list
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Area

Homes in reach of this schoolLook up any home near here: its sales, an open-data valuation, and which schools it keeps in reach.Search homes →

Sources

  • DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps
  • DfE school performance tables
  • DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase
  • DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence)
  • DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level
  • DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level
  • DfE, destination measures
  • DfE, school workforce; school census
  • DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs
  • DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes)
  • DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years
  • Ofsted
  • School register: DfE Get Information about Schools (this school)
  • How we check these figures: How we know

More in schools in Folkestone and the Kent league table. School register: DfE Get Information about Schools, updated 17 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources are named beside each figure. How we know · All sources.