Dartford Grammar School is a selective boys' grammar school for ages 11 to 18 on West Hill in Dartford, with a co-educational sixth form. Founded in 1576, it is one of England's oldest schools, but the modern identity is strongly international: the school's public motto-line is "a learning community developing international citizens", and its curriculum is built around International Baccalaureate principles rather than a conventional A-level sixth form.
That IB identity runs through the whole academic model. In Years 7 to 9, pupils follow the Middle Years Programme approach, developing subject knowledge through inquiry and the IB Learner Profile. GCSE study remains broad, with English, mathematics and science at the core, and the language curriculum is unusually prominent: all pupils start an Oriental language in Year 7, add a European language or Latin in Year 8, and continue both languages to Year 11. In the sixth form, students take the IB Diploma only, with no A-level route.
The wider offer supports the same international and whole-person emphasis. The school points to music, performing arts, languages and sport in sixth-form admissions material; its pastoral pages emphasise students being well known and supported; and recent school news describes a rich co-curricular programme with trips, national athletics success, sport, music, drama, art and clubs. A contemporary Sixth Form Study Centre gives the post-16 curriculum a dedicated base.
Year 7 entry is through the Kent Test, with 180 places. The school's 2027 procedure divides places into a priority-area category and an open category, with pupil-premium sub-priorities within each; boys must be assessed suitable for grammar school through Kent PESE before these rules apply. Recent outcomes are notably strong: the school reported 80.7% of 2025 GCSE grades at 9-7, while GOV.UK shows Ofsted Outstanding, +1.11 Progress 8 and 100% grade 5+ in English and maths.
