Towers School and Sixth Form Centre Review 2026: Community-led secondary with structured routines and a growing sixth form

A large, mixed secondary in Ashford with a clear emphasis on routines, subject knowledge, and enrichment as a weekly expectation. The school is an academy within Towers School Academy Trust, and it converted to academy status in April 2011.

Leadership is currently headed by Principal Richard Billings. Publicly available sources confirm the name but do not give a definitive appointment date; Ofsted correspondence shows he was in post by November 2017.

The most recent Ofsted inspection, dated 15 and 16 October 2024, graded Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development, and Sixth Form Provision as Good, with Leadership and Management graded Requires Improvement.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Families should still budget for the usual costs such as uniform, trips, equipment, and optional activities.

The school’s own language centres on shared identity and collective responsibility, expressed through three stated values: Aspirational, Respectful and One Community. In practical terms, that reads as a culture where expectations are made explicit, consistency is prioritised, and pupils are encouraged to see themselves as part of a wider whole rather than operating year by year.

A notable structural feature is the way the day is organised around predictable routines and a built-in enrichment slot. The published timetable shows a morning Daily Reflection (DR) registration, five main periods, and a sixth period that is paired with enrichment. The schedule runs from 08:40 to 16:15, which is longer than many secondaries and is relevant for transport planning and after-school commitments.

External evidence supports a generally settled feel for most pupils. The most recent inspection describes a strong sense of belonging, clear routines, and low levels of disruption, which aligns with a school positioning itself around clarity and consistency.

At GCSE level, Towers ranks 2,726th in England and 7th in Ashford for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). This places performance broadly in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

The attainment profile includes:

• Attainment 8: 40.2

• EBacc average point score: 3.67

• Progress 8: -0.29

• Percentage achieving grades 5 or above in the EBacc: 12%

For parents, the key implication of the Progress 8 figure is that outcomes, on average, are below what would be expected from pupils with similar starting points nationally. That does not mean strong individual results are impossible, but it does suggest families should probe how targeted support, effective revision habits, and attendance are managed for pupils who are at risk of underperforming.

At A-level, the sixth form sits lower in England rankings: 2,212th in England and 6th in Ashford for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). The grade distribution shows:

• A* at 0%

• A at 10.67%

• B at 18.67%

• A* to B at 29.33%

Taken together, the picture is of a school where systems and culture are intended to support improvement, but headline outcomes are currently more mixed than the strongest sixth forms and secondaries in the county.

For parents comparing alternatives, the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help you set Towers alongside nearby schools on the same metrics, including Progress 8 and sixth-form outcomes, without relying on marketing claims.

The school’s published curriculum messaging is unambiguous about pedagogy: knowledge, checking, revisiting, and building long-term memory are central themes. This is paired with an insistence on clarity, pace, and consistent classroom routines.

External evidence supports strengths in subject expertise and sequencing. The latest inspection report describes a broad and balanced subject offer, careful sequencing of knowledge and skills, and teachers who explain concepts clearly and address gaps in memory promptly.

Where this can fall short, based on the same evidence, is in consistently developing higher-order learning behaviours across classrooms. The report points to variability in how well teaching builds problem-solving and independent thinking, and whether training is applied consistently.

A distinctive feature on the school website is the emphasis on setting rather than whole-school streaming, described as “Grammar sets” across core subjects, with the explicit argument that subject-by-subject placement can better reflect uneven strengths. For pupils who are very strong in one core subject but need more structure in another, this model can be helpful if review points are frequent and movement between sets is genuinely fluid.

Where Students Go Next

For sixth form leavers, the published destination breakdown shows a varied set of pathways. For the 2023 to 2024 cohort (cohort size 83), 34% progressed to university, 12% entered apprenticeships, 33% moved into employment, and 2% went to further education.

The school also publishes a qualitative snapshot of 2024 destinations, listing a range of apprenticeships and employers, including opportunities in digital marketing, project management, and legal services, plus examples of employment routes and self-employment. This matters because it suggests the school is comfortable presenting multiple definitions of success, not solely academic progression.

At Year 11, the school publishes a destinations table showing substantial movement into colleges as well as internal progression into Towers Sixth Form. For 2023/24, the table shows 45% moving to colleges and 36% progressing into Towers Sixth Form (with smaller proportions into apprenticeships and other routes). The key implication is that Towers appears to operate as both a secondary and a local stepping-stone into different post-16 options, rather than assuming a single default pathway.

Oxbridge pipeline data is not available for this school, and the school does not publish specific Oxbridge counts in the sources reviewed.

Year 7 admission is coordinated by Kent County Council rather than directly by the school. The Kent timetable for children starting Year 7 in September 2026 states that applications opened on 01 September 2025 and closed on 31 October 2025. Offers are released on 02 March 2026, with acceptance and waiting-list deadlines on 16 March 2026.

The school states it welcomes applications from students of all abilities, and directs families to the Kent process for year-of-entry admissions, with in-year admissions handled directly by the school.

The admissions demand data available for this school indicates oversubscription, with 813 applications for 238 offers and a subscription proportion of 3.42 in the most recent dataset. The practical implication is that, even without selection, admission is competitive and families should treat application preferences strategically and use accurate distance tools rather than assumptions.

For sixth form entry, the school’s sixth form application page directs students to apply via Kent Choices, with a stated deadline of 13 February 2026.

Parents considering Towers should use FindMySchool Map Search to check travel time and, where relevant, distance-based priority factors. Even when admissions are coordinated by the local authority, precise mapping and realistic commutes often decide whether a school works day to day.

Pastoral messaging on the school website emphasises welfare systems, safeguarding resources, and structured support. External evidence points to a school where pupils generally feel safe and cared for, and where routines are designed to keep behaviour calm and learning disruption low.

A particularly relevant feature is the Rashford Centre, described in the inspection report as an on-site alternative provision route that supports pupils who struggle to meet behavioural expectations and aims to reduce suspensions by helping pupils manage behaviour more effectively. For families whose child may need a reset space, or who has struggled with mainstream behaviour systems, this kind of internal provision can be a meaningful differentiator between schools.

The main pastoral risk factor flagged in official evidence is attendance. The inspection report states that too many pupils are regularly absent and that further work is needed to strengthen partnerships with families and professionals to raise expectations. For parents, this is not just a school-wide metric, it affects classroom pace, peer culture, and the degree of catch-up support required when pupils miss learning.

Enrichment is not treated as an optional add-on. The school states an expectation that students attend at least one enrichment activity weekly each term, and it publishes termly timetables.

The current enrichment schedule provides a useful window into breadth and identity. Examples include:

• Stage Door Company Theatre, plus a Royal Shakespeare Company Club and a National Theatre Company group

• Velocity Dance Company pathways (including different levels and age groups)

• Dr Frost Club and a Year 11 Maths Masterclass for structured academic extension

• STEM Club, Eco Club, and subject-linked revision support

• Warhammer Club, Anime Club, and a Year 7 Board Game Club for social belonging beyond sport

The arts also have explicit strategic weight. The school describes an “Artsmark journey” that repositioned arts education as a core improvement priority, with a stated model of four hours of arts education per week covering both visual and performing arts. The implication for students is greater regularity and seriousness in arts curriculum time, rather than arts being treated as a peripheral enrichment offer.

For sport and activity, the enrichment schedule includes multiple fitness suite and basketball options, plus girls’ football. While sport is present, the wider offer looks balanced, with clear space for creative and academic identities as well as athletic ones.

The published school-day timings run from 08:40 to 16:15, with Period 6 paired with enrichment. This structure can suit families who prefer a longer supervised day and consistent after-school engagement.

Transport information on the school website points families towards local bus operators for timetables and highlights a Kent 16+ travel card route for post-16 students. The key practical step is to test commute reliability at the times pupils actually travel, not just the nominal journey time.

• Leadership and management has a specific improvement focus. The most recent inspection graded Leadership and Management as Requires Improvement, with urgent attention needed around evaluation and oversight of part-time timetables and alternative provision.

• Attendance is a meaningful challenge. Official evidence indicates persistent absence for a significant minority, which can affect learning pace and the amount of independent catch-up a student must do to stay secure.

• A longer day changes the family rhythm. A 16:15 end tied to enrichment can be a benefit, but it also affects transport, part-time work, and caring responsibilities for older students.

• Leadership transition may be on the horizon. A Kent recruitment listing indicates the school has sought to appoint a Principal with a stated start date of September 2026. Families may want to ask how continuity is being managed across the next academic cycle.

Towers School and Sixth Form Centre suits families who value clear routines, a strongly signposted culture, and an expectation that students participate beyond lessons each week. It can work particularly well for students who benefit from structure and who will engage with the breadth of enrichment, arts, and internal support pathways.

The main challenge is that outcomes, especially Progress 8 and sixth-form grades point to inconsistent impact across cohorts. Families seriously considering Towers should prioritise questions about attendance improvement, consistency of teaching practice across departments, and how post-16 pathways are supported for both university and apprenticeship routes.