Towers School and Sixth Form Centre

Towers School and Sixth Form Centre is a friendly, inclusive secondary academy where pupils feel safe, are proud to attend and benefit from strong care and a clear sense of community. The quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and sixth-form provision are all good. Pupils follow a broad and well-sequenced curriculum, teachers generally explain concepts clearly, reading support is effective, and pupils are achieving better in national examinations and assessments. Behaviour is managed well, disruption is rare, and the school’s personal development, careers and arts offer are notable strengths. Safeguarding is effective. Leadership and management require improvement. The school does not rigorously monitor part-time timetables and alternative provision, meaning a small number of pupils, including some with SEND, do not receive timely support or their entitlement to full-time education for extended periods. Information about some pupils’ SEND needs is not always detailed or current enough, so learning is not always adapted precisely. Too many pupils are regularly absent, and in some lessons teaching does not consistently challenge pupils to think independently or critically. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is part of Towers School Academy Trust, and the report says the school and trustees must take urgent action to improve oversight of alternative provision and part-time timetables.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, happy and proud to attend a friendly school with a strong sense of community.
• Staff know pupils well and pupils speak highly of the care they receive.
• Most pupils behave very well, respect each other’s right to learn and disruption is rare.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and carefully sequenced to build on pupils’ understanding.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and explain ideas and concepts clearly.
• Teachers identify and address gaps in pupils’ memory so most pupils remember learning long-term.
• Pupils, including sixth-form students, are achieving better in national examinations and assessments.
• Reading is well supported, with effective help from expert staff for pupils who need it.
• Personal development is a priority, including purposeful citizenship lessons and pupil voice.
• The school council and Year 11 prefects are positive role models for their peers.
• Pupils access a wide range of enrichment opportunities such as cheerleading and chess club.
• The Rashford Centre provides thoughtful support and has reduced the school’s use of suspension.
• Pupils benefit from a rich careers programme that builds ambition.
• Sixth-form students receive useful study skills and targeted academic mentoring where needed.
• The school is alive with the arts, with a strong performing arts curriculum and accessible cultural opportunities.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Leadership and management require improvement.
• The school does not systematically check how well part-time timetables and alternative provision help pupils re-engage with education.
• A small number of pupils with SEND do not receive their entitlement to full-time education for extended periods.
• The school and trustees must urgently improve monitoring and evaluation of part-time timetables and alternative provision.
• Staff do not always have up-to-date and accurate information about pupils’ SEND needs.
• Some pupils with SEND do not receive the precise learning adjustments they need.
• In some lessons, teaching does not challenge pupils sufficiently to think deeply, solve problems or think critically.
• Not all staff apply training consistently, limiting pupils’ development of independent thinking.
• Too many pupils are regularly absent from school and miss important learning.
• Persistent absence among a small number of pupils remains a concern.
• The school needs to strengthen partnership with pupils, families and professionals to overcome barriers to attendance.

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 Towers School and Sixth Form Centre attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 32.9% 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, 8.6% of pupils at Towers School and Sixth Form Centre 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 Towers School and Sixth Form Centre had 15.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.1% 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, 11.5% of pupils at Towers School and Sixth Form Centre were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 Towers School and Sixth Form Centre received £7,516 and spent £7,281 for each of its 1,561 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,269,000 (£813 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.

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What is Towers School and Sixth Form Centre's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Towers School and Sixth Form Centre is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Towers School and Sixth Form Centre last inspected by Ofsted?

Towers School and Sixth Form Centre was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Towers School and Sixth Form Centre have?

Towers School and Sixth Form Centre has 1,538 pupils on roll.

What age range does Towers School and Sixth Form Centre cover?

Towers School and Sixth Form Centre for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Towers School and Sixth Form Centre's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.4, and 38% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Towers School and Sixth Form Centre?

Towers School and Sixth Form Centre is at Faversham Road, Kennington, Ashford, Kent, TN24 9AL.