Maritime Academy, Rochester
Maritime Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 19 in Rochester, part of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust. It was 51% full in 2025.
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Below England average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Medway (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Maritime Academy in detail
Maritime Academy in its own words
In its own words: "To truly transform life chances, we need to transform people: developing effective habits that will support our students to achieve success both within the Academy and beyond. Our expectation is that students will strive for excellence in academic performance and work hard to be the best member of our school community that they can be."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Getting a place at Maritime Academy
For September 2026 entry, 174 families put Maritime Academy as their first choice and 597 named it as one of their preferences, for 172 places offered. That is slightly more first choices than places. 31 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Maritime Academy are Fort Pitt Grammar School (1.7 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 63); Waterfront UTC (1.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 31.5); St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School (1.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 40.4); and Leigh Academy Strood (1.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.7).
Fort Pitt Grammar SchoolWaterfront UTCSt John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive SchoolLeigh Academy Strood
The trust
Maritime Academy is one of 26 schools run by The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.9 in 2024/25.
What parents say
81 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Maritime Academy (as of September 2025): 52% would recommend the school, 56% say their child is happy there and 39% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (69%); the weakest, that the school supports their child's wider development (35%).
Who goes there
In 2026, 40 pupils (5.4%) received SEN support and 25 (3.4%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Strood Rail Station, about 960 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Sans Pareil for Maritime Academy (opposite), 150 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Maritime Academy issued 241 suspensions, 42.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Maritime Academy are Hilltop Primary School (0.3 miles), Wainscott Primary School (0.3 miles), English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles) and Temple Mill Primary School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Hilltop Primary SchoolWainscott Primary SchoolEnglish Martyrs' Catholic Primary SchoolTemple Mill Primary School
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's May 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Maritime Academy excels at creating a welcoming environment where pupils feel safe and supported by trusted adults. The school combines high academic expectations with excellent enrichment opportunities - from embroidery and Japanese to boxing and gardening - ensuring there really is something for everyone. Staff are knowledgeable and passionate about their subjects, helping pupils develop a genuine love of learning.
Key Strengths
- Inclusive and aspirational school culture with strong relationships between staff and pupils based on mutual respect
- Carefully designed curriculum with deliberately structured knowledge and skills, particularly strong focus on reading
- Staff with strong subject knowledge who model learning effectively and help pupils retrieve information successfully
- Wide range of enrichment activities through the 'horizons programme' and leadership opportunities that help pupils develop interests and talents
- Effective support for pupils with special educational needs, with accurate identification and appropriate curriculum adaptations
Areas for Improvement
- Teachers sometimes do not check pupils' understanding carefully enough before moving on to new learning, which means some pupils don't gain knowledge as quickly or securely as they could
- Attendance for some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs, remains below expected levels, causing them to miss essential learning
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with the school creating an open and positive culture around safeguarding that prioritises pupils' interests.
Extracurricular Activities
Embroidery, boxing, cooking, gardening, Japanese, multi-sports, fleet admiral and warrant officer leadership roles, pupil parliament, community lunch debates
Maritime Academy is a welcoming and inclusive secondary school that opened in 2022 and has established a strong community ethos with high expectations for pupils. The school has been rated Good across all key areas of education quality, behaviour, personal development, and leadership.
At a Glance
32.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
81 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
0.36%
Exclusion rate
241
Suspensions
42.88%
Suspension rate
75 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 562 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Maritime Academy
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Maritime Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Maritime Academy is in Medway; for families living there:
Apply to Medway for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 42
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 10
- Children hurt
- 8
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 42 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 10 serious and 32 slight.
8 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 6 in a vehicle or otherwise.
12 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Medway is 25 (the median across 117 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Maritime Academy
Will you get a place at Maritime Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Maritime Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Maritime Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Maritime Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Medway, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Maritime Academy for 2023 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Medway got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
51%
Available places
582 pupils
1,150 places
568 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Rochester
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Rochester
Across Medway council
Places available
3,844
Applications
3,586
Got 1st preference
80.4%
Got preferred school
96.8%
All secondary applications across Medway council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
40
SEN Support
25
EHC Plans
8.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
736
Total Pupils
379
Boys
357
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
41
Teachers
18.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,180
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,972
Per pupil
£5644k
Total funding
£176k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
9.9%
Overall absence
27.8%
Persistent absence
633
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Maritime Academy
Showing 10 of 14 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Maritime Academy
What is the catchment area for Maritime Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Maritime Academy is oversubscribed, Medway allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Maritime Academy?
Maritime Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 51% of its 1150 places.
How big are the classes at Maritime Academy?
Classes at Maritime Academy average 26.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Maritime Academy?
Maritime Academy has around 736 pupils on roll. 33% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Maritime Academy?
9.9% of sessions were missed at Maritime Academy in 2024/25. 27.8% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Maritime Academy?
Apply through Medway's coordinated admissions process, naming Maritime Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Maritime Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 42 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 10 serious and 32 slight. 8 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 6 in a vehicle or otherwise. 12 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Medway is 25 (the median across 117 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Maritime Academy?
Maritime Academy is at Chalk Lane, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4YG.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)