Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School

Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School is performing exceptionally well across all areas, achieving outstanding ratings in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. The school's ethos fosters a safe and supportive environment where pupils are ambitious, polite, and respectful. Strong leadership drives a determined focus on academic success and personal growth, ensuring a holistic approach to education that includes a well-structured enrichment programme alongside an academically rigorous curriculum. The school effectively meets the needs of all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils, ensuring they make exceptional progress. High attendance rates and excellent support for personal and career development, particularly in preparation for higher education, are notable strengths. The inspection noted that the school is a larger than average selective grammar school that converted to an academy in 2011 and has not been inspected before under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Strengths

• Exceptional pupil behaviour and positive attitudes towards learning.
• Holistically planned and ambitious curriculum with a strong enrichment programme.
• Outstanding support for students with SEND and those eligible for pupil premium.
• Highly positive school culture where bullying is rare and addressed swiftly.
• Exceptional subject knowledge among teachers and effective assessment practices.
• Strong focus on character development and personal responsibilities.

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 Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 5.0% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School had 21.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.6% 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, 6.8% of pupils at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.6% 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 Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School received £7,567 and spent £7,117 for each of its 1,528 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £774,000 (£506 per pupil).

Across all 33 schools of Leigh Academies Trust, income was £8,972 and spending £8,821 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 Rochester · Medway local authority: places and applications

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School is part of Leigh Academies Trust, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

• Leigh Academy Strood Rochester
• Leigh Academy Hundred of Hoo Rochester
• Leigh Academy Rainham Gillingham
• Leigh Academy High Halstow Rochester
• Leigh Academy Bearsted Maidstone
• Leigh Academy Snowfields Maidstone
• Leigh Academy Peninsula East Rochester
• Leigh Academy Milestone Longfield
• Leigh Academy Oaks Maidstone
• Leigh Academy Longfield Longfield

What is Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School is Outstanding, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School have?

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School has 1,555 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School cover?

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 69.9, and 96% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School?

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School is at Maidstone Road, Rochester, Kent, ME1 3EL.