The Robert Napier School Review 2026: A Medway secondary with Sixth Form, focused on consistency and progress

In a part of Medway where families weigh comprehensive options alongside selective routes, The Robert Napier School positions itself as a local, mixed 11 to 18 academy with a clear improvement agenda and a strong emphasis on routines, attendance, and behaviour expectations. The current headteacher, Mrs Jenny Tomkins, has been in post since July 2023, a stabilising factor after a period of leadership change.

The headline picture from the most recent inspection is consistent across areas, with key judgements recorded as Requires Improvement, including sixth form provision, following an inspection in late September 2024.

For parents, the practical takeaway is straightforward. This is a school where the day-to-day experience is being shaped by a drive for more consistent curriculum delivery, stronger attendance, and tighter follow-through on expectations, alongside a small sixth form that offers a mix of academic, applied, and technical pathways.

The school’s public messaging is direct about aspiration and direction. Its stated vision centres on helping students believe they can secure a better future, supported by six named values (Fairness, Kindness, Respectful, Courageous, Resilient, Responsible) and four pillars that frame provision (Community, Curriculum, Enrichment, Wellbeing).

Culture here is also expressed through systems. The school explains expectations around punctuality, uniform, equipment, and mobile phone use in clear operational terms, including a “See It, Hear It, Take It” approach to phones during school time. In practice, that kind of clarity tends to suit students who do best with firm boundaries and predictable routines, and it can be reassuring for families who prioritise calm corridors and consistent standards.

A distinctive strand is the way the school links citizenship to participation. The website describes a House system used to teach representative democracy, with Sixth Form House Leadership roles elected by students, and curriculum links to British values. For many teenagers, that offers a practical route into leadership that is not limited to the most academically confident.

Historically, the school’s identity is tied to Medway’s longer education story. Records in local heritage collections note the move to Third Avenue in 1977, which helps explain why many local families will associate the site with multiple generations of local schooling.

On published outcome measures, the school sits in the lower performance band nationally on FindMySchool’s proprietary rankings based on official data. For GCSE outcomes, it is ranked 3,799th in England and 6th in Gillingham. That places results below England average overall, and it is a useful prompt for parents to look beyond marketing headlines and focus on subject-by-subject fit and support.

The underlying performance measures reinforce that caution. Attainment 8 is 27.9, and Progress 8 is -1.0, which indicates that, on average, students have been achieving meaningfully below the progress seen nationally from similar starting points. EBacc average point score is 2.48, below the England figure of 4.08, suggesting that EBacc outcomes are a pressure point for improvement.

At A-level, the school’s FindMySchool ranking is 2,551st in England and 6th in Gillingham, placing it in the lower band nationally. The headline A-level grade breakdown available here is also weak versus England benchmarks, with 8.82% of entries at A* to B, compared with an England figure of 47.2% for A* to B.

None of this means students cannot do well here, but it does sharpen the questions families should ask. How consistent is teaching in the subjects your child is likely to take. What interventions are in place for attendance and missed learning. How does the school track progress and respond when it dips.

Parents comparing several Medway schools can use the FindMySchool Local Hub pages to put rankings and outcomes side by side, then shortlist based on the subjects and support that matter for their child.

The school’s improvement priorities are closely tied to consistency of implementation. Curriculum design is described as structured in some areas, with mathematics highlighted as carefully sequenced with a consistent approach, while English has been redesigned but was still bedding in at the time of the last inspection.

More broadly, the curriculum aim is described as broad and balanced, but with unevenness between subjects. For families, the practical implication is to probe the departments your child will rely on most. Ask what the planned curriculum looks like in Years 7 to 9, how homework supports knowledge retention, and how teachers respond when students miss learning through absence.

In sixth form, the offer is framed as a mix of academic, applied, and technical courses. Where this can work well is for students who want a familiar environment and a local route to Level 3 study without the disruption of moving provider at 16. The counterweight is that retention and outcomes have been identified as an area needing improvement, so it is worth asking directly about course completion rates, attendance expectations, and the support available if a student needs to change pathway.

The school does not publish a quantified Russell Group or Oxbridge pipeline in the material reviewed, but it does give examples of students progressing to university, including named subjects and destinations such as Psychology at the University of Kent. That gives a sense of local progression routes, even if it does not provide the statistical certainty parents often want.

The clearest numeric destination picture available is for the 2023 to 2024 leaver cohort (65 students). In that cohort, 35% progressed to university, 3% to further education, 3% to apprenticeships, and 38% entered employment. Taken together, this looks like a mixed destination pattern with a comparatively large employment route, which can suit students who are aiming for work quickly, but it also suggests that supporting more students towards sustained Level 3 completion and higher education remains an important development area.

Year 7 admissions are coordinated by Medway Council. For September 2026 entry, the key deadline for secondary transfer applications was 31 October 2025, with offers issued on 2 March 2026 and a further reallocation stage from 20 April 2026.

The school’s determined admission arrangements for September 2026 set a planned admission number of 180 for Year 7. When oversubscribed, the published oversubscription criteria place highest priority on children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, then looked after or previously looked after children, then siblings, then distance measured by the shortest available safe walking route, with a random tie-break if required.

Demand locally has been strong. Medway’s own directory data records 452 applications for September 2025 entry and 210 offers, indicating a competitive pattern in recent rounds.

For sixth form entry (Year 12), the school’s admission arrangements set a planned sixth form number of 180 and indicate that external applicants may be admitted up to capacity, subject to meeting entry requirements. The published minimum entry requirement for advanced level study is five GCSEs at grade 4 or equivalent, with subject-specific requirements set out separately.

For families trying to judge realistic chances of a Year 7 place, FindMySchool Map Search is useful for checking precise home-to-school distance against typical local demand patterns, especially in Medway where distance criteria can be decisive when a school is oversubscribed.

Pastoral positioning is explicit, with the school describing wellbeing as one of its core pillars and setting out safeguarding information and support pathways for students and families.

The latest inspection confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Operationally, expectations around punctuality, attendance and conduct are set out in detail, including registration timing and the consequences for lateness. This can be a positive for families who want a school that draws clear lines and follows through, particularly for students who benefit from external structure.

The school also publishes specialist policies that indicate breadth in support, including a dedicated Therapy Dog Policy and detailed SEND documentation, which is relevant context for families looking for layered pastoral approaches rather than a single intervention route.

The school frames “Enrichment” as one of its four pillars and describes an established programme of extracurricular clubs, alongside sport and wider opportunities. While the public-facing pages reviewed do not provide a full named club list, there are specific, school-distinctive structures that function as meaningful co-curricular provision.

First, the House system is not just a badge or a sports day mechanism. It is used as a vehicle for student voice and leadership, including elected Sixth Form House Leadership teams and curriculum links to democratic participation. The implication is that students who are not natural “front of class” performers still have a defined route into responsibility and representation.

Second, there is a specifically resourced provision for students with visual impairment (noted as a 10 place resource base), which is a tangible, specialist feature that often brings additional expertise, equipment, and inclusive practice into the wider school community.

Finally, the school’s published approach to personal development focuses heavily on structured PSHE and wellbeing content, with stated aims around tolerance, respect, and practical careers guidance. For students who need coaching in decision-making and next steps, this emphasis can be more valuable than a long list of clubs that are poorly attended or inconsistently run.

The school day is built around an 08.25 arrival expectation, with the timetable indicating a structure from registration through five periods and a school-run enrichment window that can extend to 16.30.

Open events are typically concentrated early in the autumn term. For the most recently published cycle, Medway listed an open evening in late September and open mornings by appointment running from late September into early October, a pattern families can reasonably expect to recur annually even when exact dates change.

• Consistency across subjects. Curriculum implementation has not been equally strong in every department, and improvement has been a stated priority. Families should look closely at the subjects their child is most likely to study.

• Attendance matters more here than in some settings. Attendance has been identified as a key area for improvement. If your child has a history of lower attendance, ask what support and escalation steps are used, and how quickly missed learning is caught up.

• Sixth form outcomes and retention are a live issue. The sixth form offers a breadth of course types, but retention, attendance and outcomes have been flagged as needing improvement. Students considering staying on should ask detailed questions about expectations, monitoring, and course guidance.

• Competition for Year 7 places can be real. Recent Medway data shows demand exceeding places. Families should plan early, attend open events, and use all available preferences strategically.

The Robert Napier School is best understood as a local Medway secondary that is trying to improve the day-to-day basics first: consistent teaching, stronger attendance, clearer routines, and a sharper personal development offer. The opportunity is a familiar 11 to 18 pathway with a small sixth form, leadership continuity since 2023, and structured systems that suit many teenagers.

It will suit families who want a clearly organised school, value boundaries and predictable routines, and are ready to engage actively with attendance, subject choice, and progress tracking. The key decision point is whether the subjects your child needs most are delivered consistently well, and whether the sixth form offer matches their likely pathway.