The Canterbury Academy

The Canterbury Academy is a large, highly inclusive secondary school and sixth form that inspectors found to be performing well overall. Leaders have a clear moral purpose and have made effective improvements since the last inspection, particularly in attendance and curriculum quality. The school’s inclusive ethos is a standout feature: it precisely identifies and meets a very wide range of needs, including for a high proportion of pupils with SEND, and runs three specially resourced provisions. Pupils feel safe, behave well, and benefit from strong pastoral care and a broad personal development programme. The sixth form is a significant strength, offering an ambitious and inclusive curriculum with over 70 qualifications and strong progression to universities, apprenticeships and employment. Personal development, careers guidance and the wider offer in music, drama and sport are also strong. However, some areas remain at the expected standard rather than strong. Historic examination results at 16 have been below average, and disadvantaged pupils’ progress and attainment, as well as A-level outcomes, are below national averages. Attendance, while improving, remains above national averages for overall and persistent absence. Teaching is generally effective, but adaptations for some pupils are not always fully implemented. The school benefits from effective leadership and governance, with staff feeling well supported and proud to work there. The trust and governors provide strong oversight and challenge. The main priorities are to ensure all pupils’ needs are met consistently so they achieve highly in national tests and exams, and to continue raising attendance, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive culture with precise identification of pupils’ needs and effective use of additional funding.
• Very effective specially resourced provisions for pupils with SEND, including autism, hearing impairment and speech, language and communication needs.
• Strong personal development programme covering consent, healthy relationships, online safety, discrimination and democracy.
• Broad wider offer in music, drama, sport and leadership roles, with full involvement of disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Very strong pastoral support and tailored careers guidance with strong local employer and higher education links.
• Highly inclusive and ambitious sixth form offering over 70 qualifications and supporting strong student progress.
• Pupils behave well, relationships are warm and respectful, and bullying is uncommon and dealt with quickly.
• Leaders, governors and trustees act with moral purpose and integrity, and staff are overwhelmingly proud to work at the school.
• Attendance and persistent absence are improving because of effective leader actions and robust follow-up systems.
• Curriculum is broad, ambitious and well designed, with particularly strong provision in the sixth form.
• Effective reading support, especially for disadvantaged pupils, and high-quality staff training.
• Leaders have an accurate understanding of strengths and priorities through targeted monitoring.

Areas for Improvement

• Overall attainment in national examinations at 16 has been below average over time, though rising.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ progress and attainment remain below national averages.
• A-level average point score and value added are below national averages.
• Some teaching adaptations are not implemented fully effectively, limiting impact for some pupils.
• Attendance and persistent absence remain above national averages, although improving.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils still attend less regularly than others.
• Leaders should further ensure all pupils’ needs are met fully over time so they achieve highly in national tests and examinations.
• Leaders should continue to increase attendance, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

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 The Canterbury Academy attended 89.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.5% 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, 3.2% of pupils at The Canterbury Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 The Canterbury Academy had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.1% 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, 17.6% of pupils at The Canterbury Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 65 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 The Canterbury Academy received £8,644 and spent £8,812 for each of its 1,993 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £190,000 (£95 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of The Canterbury Academy Trust, income was £8,740 and spending £8,719 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 Canterbury · Kent local authority: places and applications

The Canterbury Academy is part of The Canterbury Academy Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• The Canterbury Primary School Canterbury

What is The Canterbury Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Canterbury Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was The Canterbury Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Canterbury Academy was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does The Canterbury Academy have?

The Canterbury Academy has 1,984 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Canterbury Academy cover?

The Canterbury Academy for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are The Canterbury Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 35.2, and 24% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Canterbury Academy?

The Canterbury Academy is at Knight Avenue, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 8QA.