The Abbey School, Faversham

Ofsted's report card from its 13 January 2026 inspection grades The Abbey School on 7 areas: 2 strong standard, 4 expected standard and 1 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Leaders show deep passion and firm commitment to providing rich opportunities for all pupils, particularly the most disadvantaged."

Post 16 provision - Strong standard. "Leaders have cultivated a broad and flexible curriculum that reflects the school's context and student aspirations."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Attendance is below the national average."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders hold a secure understanding of the quality of the curriculum and teaching across the school."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "The school fosters an inclusive culture where pupils feel supported, valued and motivated to succeed."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leadership at all levels shows a secure and well-established understanding of the school's context and community."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Less effective teaching in the past than currently in school continues to affect published outcomes, which remain below national averages."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should continue their work to embed highly effective teaching across the curriculum to help pupils deepen their learning and knowledge consistently so that pupils' achievements improve, including those in published outcomes"; "Leaders should continue to refine and implement highly effective support to further reduce persistent absenteeism and improve the attendance of pupils".

From the headteacher's welcome: "I am confident that you will find it informative and enjoyable to explore. The Abbey School is a mixed secondary school with a thriving population of over 1000 students. We believe that school should be a place where young people can discover and develop their own individual talents."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include STEM and Duke of Edinburgh.

Coming up: an open evening on Thursday 26 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at The Abbey School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 36.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 48.1 in Kent and 47 across England.

28% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Kent and 47% in England.

That is up from 35.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.56: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 32.3, against 39.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 7 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 26 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 119 families put The Abbey School as their first choice and 314 named it as one of their preferences, for 168 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The Abbey School is one of 9 schools run by The Howard Academy Trust, an academy trust.

169 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The Abbey School (as of April 2026): 70% would recommend the school, 72% say their child is happy there and 36% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that pupils behave well (75%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (36%).

Of the 195 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 82% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 43% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

Of the 50 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 38% went on to university or other higher education, 6% to apprenticeships and 36% into work.

38.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 9.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (81%) and Black (6%).

In 2026, 163 pupils (15.4%) received SEN support and 73 (6.9%) 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.

The Abbey School has a resourced provision (52 places, 48 pupils on roll) and a SEN unit (52 places, 48 pupils on roll) for autism.

The nearest railway station is Faversham Rail Station, about 570 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Mall (n-bound), 260 metres away.

In 2024/25, The Abbey School issued 342 suspensions, 30.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The Abbey School are Ethelbert Road Primary School (0.3 miles), Ospringe Church of England Primary School (0.7 miles), St Mary of Charity CofE (Aided) Primary School (0.7 miles) and Bysing Wood Primary School (1 mile). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.