The head of a school ranked as Kent’s best secondary has revealed why he is stepping down in a candid and exclusive interview.

Bob Benson, the outspoken leader of Dover Grammar School for Girls, also reflected on his tenure while navigating deep government funding cuts and, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic...

The history of Dover Grammar School for Girls stretches to 1904 when The County School for Boys and Girls was formed by combining the Dover Pupil Teacher Centre and the Municipal Secondary School.

Externally, very few changes have been made to the magnificent campus in Frith Road, save for a newly built science block.

But internally, the school is about to experience a seismic shift in leadership, as Mr Benson, head since 2016, says farewell.

Speaking from his office, Mr Benson revealed he is stepping aside into a coaching role to enable someone new with a fresh approach to fill his shoes.

He also told how the “once in a generation” pandemic, perhaps his biggest challenge, triggered a surge in pupils’ mental health issues, with children working from home.

Although 98% of parents surveyed said he did a “really good job” there are still some “hangovers” following the national lockdowns, he says.

“There are generally a lot of issues such as attendance,” he said.

“It is not the majority but there are a small group of students who say: ‘If we worked from home in Covid, why can’t we do that now?’

“But we have very strong attendance here.”

Mr Benson also fears it could “take a generation” to work out the impact the Covid pandemic had on pupils.

Recent research reveals secondary students experienced significantly higher depression rates and worse mental well-being during the lockdowns.

The University of Oxford study found girls and those who were initially at low risk of mental health difficulties experienced greater deterioration during the pandemic.

Cases of depression among secondary school pupils aged 11 to 13 rose by 8.5% during the pandemic compared with a 0.3% increase for the same cohort before Covid.

Mr Benson stresses that period for children, like everybody else, was a time of “uncertainty and fear”.

“One of the things that I think we have all realised was hugely significant are those times of transition,” he said.

“Things like open evenings, transition day into school, your last day and all those celebrations or significant moments that we all did and enjoyed.

“Those are significant and without them, there is a feeling of taking more time for students to work out who they are and particularly in the year after [the first lockdown], there was a rise in mental health issues.”

Mr Benson believes boosting funding is key to improving the well-being of pupils.

While the Institute for Fiscal Studies says there have been real-term budget cuts since 2010, it says spending has increased over the past five years.

He says the school is one of the lowest funded in the country and has called for more cash to help improve the well-being of pupils.

“If you give more financing to schools you have more capacity to deal with those issues, to put in early interventions and to have people who are very specific in their role to support those students so, what can we do well?” he said.

“It goes back to the finance.

“I think we do a fantastic job with the limited amount of finance but certainly financing school is challenging at the moment.

“That is not just me saying that. You can ask any school in the country and they are all saying we are getting in real terms less money each year.

“Therefore, in terms of school leadership, there is more pressure and expectations.”

The girls’ grammar clinches the top spot in school directory website Snobe’s 2024 Kent secondary schools rankings (if special educational needs schools are excluded - it is ranked fifth if these are included).

Snobe includes factors such as Ofsted reports, academic performance and reviews from parents to inform its rankings.

But what makes Mr Benson’s school stand out above the others?

“Every school has its strengths,” he said. “I think in this particular one, everybody has their metrics in the way they measure and I think two things come out from this particular research that you have done.

“Firstly, it is the quality of teaching and learning and how that is worked out.

“Secondly, the little funding we have we put in to make sure we have got the contact ratio in with teachers and students.

“That is the most important thing because if you can make classes any smaller then it helps the teacher and student interaction and the development of those students.”

Dover Grammar has an ‘outstanding’ rating from Ofsted, which as far as the government is concerned, is the best it can be.

But the last time the school had an inspection was 11 years ago, meaning the watchdog has not visited since Mr Benson became head.

“I feel like I have missed out,” he said. “I have had five years' worth of plans that I have ditched each year and put the next one in to get through and retain the ‘outstanding’.

“This is my third ‘outstanding’ school in a row so usually I have at least two Ofsted visits in the first four years when I go to a school but because of the historic way it works.”

But despite wanting a visit from inspectors, Mr Benson does believe the watchdog needs to change.

“I think it has been clear the one-word grading is unhelpful and is not helpful for schools,” he added.

“Secondly, I think the context of the school has to be taken into account more.

“So there are some fantastic schools locally where the demographic of the students means on certain metrics they will always have a low score but it does not mean they are not doing well for the students.

“Therefore, giving them a one-word statement is not necessarily helpful.

“When you go into Sainsbury's, you do not have a grade on the wall and say, ‘I am not going into this one because they are only good, they are not outstanding’.

“It is a very funny thing to give them one label and that is it.”

He says he is not alone in saying that and believes there are other models which could be adopted which are more developmental.

“There is a lot of work to be done on Ofsted,” he said.

“I think Sir Martyn Oliver [chief inspector for education] is doing a fantastic job in the way he has been re-looking at things but it all depends on if there is the political will for a dramatic change because we do have a very firm accountability model but it should be a developmental model.”

Mr Benson thoroughly believes in the grammar school system, which has been a subject of fierce debate over the years.

But of course, we would expect him to say that, being the head of Kent’s best.

“If I did not then you would be slightly wondering who I was and what I was doing here,” he said.

“I go to personal stories of students.

“So I go to a student who became head prefect and they were the first person in their family to go to university and, through this school, they had the opportunity of having a go to Oxbridge.

“They did not get to Oxbridge but got a fantastic course at the University of Birmingham and so great opportunities for that student.

“Nobody in their broader family had ever gone to university and actually in talking to that student, nobody had ever gone to sixth form or A levels.”

After an impressive eight years, Mr Benson can certainly leave Dover Grammar knowing he has had a great impact on children’s lives.

He says it is the “right time to move on” to let someone else take over who will look at things differently.

“There have been some huge changes and things have moved forward in those seven years, but I would like to be doing some different things,” he said.

Mr Benson says he has undertaken a coaching course and plans to have a break when he leaves before supporting school leaders.

Speaking about his achievements, he said: “Students are engaged, and love being here and learning.

“In the hurly-burly of Covid, parents think we did a brilliant job.

“The most disadvantaged students have achieved better and better year-on-year because of the programmes we put in place.”

But does he have any regrets?

“For school leaders there needs to be specifically-qualified coaches who support school leaders and, if I have a regret, it is I did not know that at the time,” he added.

“When you start, I did not know that at the time.

“If I knew what I know now, I would specifically be saying to governors and multi-academy trust leaders this is what I know I need in order to do the very best for my well-being and for the greater benefit of schools.”