The Robert Napier School

The Robert Napier School is a secondary modern academy in the Beyond Schools Trust that has recently undergone significant leadership change, including a new headteacher from July 2023. Inspectors found the school is not yet performing well overall: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision all require improvement, after a previous good judgement. Pupils generally feel happy and safe, value strong pastoral support and the wider activities on offer, and behaviour has improved, but low-level disruption still affects learning at times. The school has a clear and ambitious vision and has made progress in curriculum planning, particularly in mathematics, and in support for weaker readers and careers guidance. However, academic achievement remains well below national averages, curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects, and attendance is low, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Suspensions and exclusions remain high, the disadvantaged gap is too large, and personal development is not fully embedded across year groups. The sixth form is small, with concerns about retention, attendance and examination outcomes. Safeguarding is effective, and staff report that leaders consider their workload and wellbeing. The trust provides training, but quality assurance needs to be more demanding, and governors need to challenge the school more rigorously on key issues. The report identifies priorities around consistent curriculum delivery, improving attendance, better supporting disadvantaged pupils, and strengthening sixth-form retention, attendance and outcomes.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy and safe, with strong pastoral support in place.
• Behaviour has improved and classrooms are calmer.
• The mathematics curriculum is carefully structured and consistent across the department.
• Most teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge.
• There is good support for the weakest readers.
• The PSHE programme is detailed and covers equality, democracy and the rule of law.
• Pupils value support for online safety and mental health.
• A range of extra-curricular and sporting activities is available.
• Careers advice and guidance are useful and help pupils make better-informed decisions.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff feel leaders are considerate of their workload and wellbeing.
• The school has a clear and ambitious vision and has made significant improvements recently.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects.
• Pupils' academic achievement is significantly below national averages.
• Attendance is low, particularly among disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Suspensions and exclusions remain high.
• The performance gap for disadvantaged pupils remains too large.
• Pupils' recall of prior and current knowledge is still developing.
• Personal development provision is not fully embedded across year groups.
• Sixth-form retention, attendance and examination outcomes are not high enough.
• Quality assurance visits by the trust need to be more demanding.
• Governors need to challenge the school more rigorously on key issues.
• Support for disadvantaged pupils in classrooms varies in quality.
• Some students drop out of sixth form before completing their courses.

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 Robert Napier School attended 89.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 36.2% 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, 20.6% of pupils at The Robert Napier School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 21 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 Robert Napier School had 17.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.7% 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, 21.6% of pupils at The Robert Napier School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 5 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 Robert Napier School received £9,514 and spent £9,708 for each of its 1,014 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £335,000 (£331 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Beyond Schools Trust, income was £7,811 and spending £7,751 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

The Robert Napier School is part of Beyond Schools Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Phoenix Primary School Chatham
• Balfour Junior School Chatham
• Fort Pitt Grammar School Chatham
• Greenacre School Chatham
• Walderslade School Chatham
• Warren Wood Primary School Rochester
• The Thomas Aveling School Rochester
• Hilltop Primary School Rochester
• Chantry Community Primary School Gravesend

What is The Robert Napier School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Robert Napier School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was The Robert Napier School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Robert Napier School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does The Robert Napier School have?

The Robert Napier School has 1,048 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Robert Napier School cover?

The Robert Napier School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Robert Napier School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 30.2, and 11% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Robert Napier School?

The Robert Napier School is at Third Avenue, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 2LX.