Brompton Academy

Brompton Academy has improved since its previous inspection and is now judged good across all key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. Pupils are proud of their school, feel welcomed, and describe behaviour as having improved rapidly under clear and fair expectations. Leaders are highly ambitious, the curriculum has been broadened and sequenced, and pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well. The school's pastoral support, careers education, and safeguarding arrangements are notable strengths. The report highlights that recent changes have rapidly improved the quality and breadth of education. Classroom routines, regular checks on learning, and precise feedback help pupils participate confidently and fill gaps in knowledge. Sixth-form students value the range of subjects and careers guidance, and they contribute to the school community through mentoring and reading support. The specially resourced Eliot Centre supports pupils with complex SEND effectively, and attendance is improving because the school acts swiftly and provides support to families. There are still areas to strengthen. Some newer curriculums, particularly in key stage 3, are not yet implemented consistently well, so some younger pupils are not as well prepared for their next steps as they could be. The school's reading assessment is not yet systematic enough to identify all pupils who need extra help, meaning some pupils do not get the support they need to become confident readers. Some pupils still do not attend regularly enough, although absence is continuing to reduce.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud of their school and new Year 7 pupils settle in quickly.
• Behaviour around the school and in lessons is positive and has improved rapidly.
• Leaders have high expectations and ambition for all pupils.
• The curriculum now meets national curriculum expectations and knowledge is logically sequenced.
• Pupils, particularly those with SEND, achieve well, including in the Eliot Centre.
• Classroom routines and regular, precise feedback support pupils' learning.
• Careers education is strong and sixth-form students value the range of subjects.
• Pupils feel safe and value the school's pastoral support and diversity.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Leaders have clear improvement priorities and manage staff workload and well-being well.

Areas for Improvement

• Implementation of some newer curriculums, particularly in key stage 3, is not consistently effective.
• Some younger pupils are not as well prepared for their next steps as they could be.
• The checking of pupils' reading ability is not systematic enough to identify all who need support.
• Some pupils do not receive the help they need to become confident, fluent readers.
• Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough, although absence is reducing.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Brompton Academy attended 91.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 13.6% of pupils at Brompton Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Brompton Academy had 15.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.9% of pupils at Brompton Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 9.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 102 pupils.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Brompton Academy received £8,901 and spent £7,817 for each of its 1,383 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,721,000 (£1,968 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of The University of Kent Academies Trust, income was £8,206 and spending £7,240 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Gillingham · Medway local authority: places and applications

Brompton Academy is part of The University of Kent Academies Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Chatham Grammar Chatham

What is Brompton Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Brompton Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Brompton Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Brompton Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Brompton Academy have?

Brompton Academy has 1,399 pupils on roll.

What age range does Brompton Academy cover?

Brompton Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Brompton Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 35.7, and 18% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Brompton Academy?

Brompton Academy is at Marlborough Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 5HT.