DARTFORD GRAMMAR SCHOOL WINS A SUNDAY TIMES SCHOOL OF THE DECADE AWARD
Dartford Grammar School has been named The Sunday Times International Baccalaureate School of the Decade by the authoritative survey Parent Power, published in The Sunday Times Schools Guide, available in The Sunday Times and online this Sunday, November 29. This survey of the country’s best schools is widely acknowledged as the most authoritative, and ranks 2000 high-achieving UK schools by their published examination results.
Normally this is a yearly survey, (the School has topped that annual survey twice in the last 5 years) but this year’s 28th edition looks at academic performance across a whole decade 2009-19: the rankings have been determined by academic achievement in the IB Diploma examination over the full ten years, together with the progression of those results, and scrutiny of outreach activities.
Alastair McCall, editor of Parent Power, said: “This is our only award to straddle both the state and independent sectors. That the winner of the award is a state school speaks volumes for the achievement of Dartford Grammar School. Its pupils ace the tough International Baccalaureate examinations year after year, achieving staggering success without their parents having to wear the cost of school fees. John Oakes has provided inspirational leadership throughout the past decade, while pupils have steadily upped their performance in the IB. Twice our IB School of the Year in the past five years, the school provides a broad and excellent education for its children, who are drawn from a notably diverse range of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.”
The Headmaster has written to all factions of our community today 27th November 2020 with more detail. It is testimony to the consistent hard work of the students and staff that the school has achieved this accolade, and also to the support given to students by parents and carers. Above all, it is something to celebrate in a period of time that has been challenging in so many ways!
