Maritime Academy

Maritime Academy is a welcoming, inclusive school with a strong sense of community and high expectations for pupils. This was its first routine section 5 inspection, and it was judged to be performing well across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school opened in 2022, is part of Thinking Schools Academy Trust, and moved to its permanent site in September 2024. The school has a thoughtfully designed, ambitious curriculum, including strong provision for pupils with SEND and a clear focus on reading. Staff have strong subject knowledge, pupils behave well and learn in calm classrooms, and personal development is a notable strength, with a wide range of wider opportunities and good preparation for life in modern Britain. Leaders are well supported by the trust, and staff receive useful professional development. The main areas for improvement are that teachers do not always check pupils’ understanding carefully enough before moving on, which can leave gaps or misconceptions unaddressed, and some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, do not attend regularly enough. The school is already working on attendance, but further tangible improvement is needed so that all pupils benefit fully from school life.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive ethos with a strong sense of community
• High expectations supported by mutual respect between staff and pupils
• Calm and purposeful classrooms where pupils behave well and learn diligently
• Ambitious, carefully structured curriculum across subjects
• Accurate identification and effective support for pupils with SEND
• Reading is central to the curriculum, with precise support for pupils who need it
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and explain and model learning effectively
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain
• Wide range of enrichment and leadership opportunities through the horizons programme and pupil roles
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Trust and governors provide timely and supportive challenge
• Staff receive professional development while workload is considered

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers do not always check pupils’ knowledge and understanding carefully enough before moving to new learning
• Gaps in knowledge and misconceptions are not always addressed effectively
• Some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, do not attend school regularly enough

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 Maritime Academy attended 90.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.8% 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, 13.3% of pupils at Maritime Academy 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 Maritime Academy had 18.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.2% 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, 5.4% of pupils at Maritime Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.4% 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 Maritime Academy received £7,811 and spent £7,682 for each of its 564 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £7,000 (£13 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, income was £8,363 and spending £8,363 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

Maritime Academy is part of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, which runs 25 schools. The nearest others:

• All Faiths Children's Academy Rochester
• Gordons Children's Academy, Junior Rochester
• Gordons Children's Academy, Infant Rochester
• Cedar Children's Academy Rochester
• The Rochester Grammar School Rochester
• The Victory Academy Chatham
• Holcombe Grammar School Chatham
• New Horizons Children's Academy Chatham
• Colchester Royal Grammar School Colchester
• Goodwin Academy Deal

What is Maritime Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Maritime Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Maritime Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Maritime Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Maritime Academy have?

Maritime Academy has 736 pupils on roll.

What age range does Maritime Academy cover?

Maritime Academy for pupils aged 11 to 19.

Where is Maritime Academy?

Maritime Academy is at Chalk Lane, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4YG.