Leigh Academy Strood
Carnation Road, Strood, Rochester, ME2 2SX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LEIGH ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Jon Richardson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Leigh Academies Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Rochester and Strood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,311
- URN
- 135964
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01634717121
About this school
Leigh Academy Strood is a secondary academy in Rochester. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,311 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 2 December 2021, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 215 | 221 | 225 |
| Attainment 8 score | 36.9 | 41.2 | 41.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.39 -0.58 to -0.20 | -0.17 -0.36 to +0.02 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 17% | 29% | 23.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 40% | 59.7% | 56% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 14% | 10.9% | 52.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Leigh Academy Strood has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Medway average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 36.9 | 34 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.2 | 36 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.2 | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,273 |
| 2023/24 | 1,302 |
| 2024/25 | 1,305 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Leigh Academy Strood compares
Leigh Academy Strood ranked 11th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.2 | 9.3% | 38.4% | 1,311 | — |
| Maritime Academy | — | 9.9% | 32.2% | 736 | 1.9 miles |
| The Rochester Grammar School | 68.4 | 4.4% | 11.7% | 1,206 | 2.3 miles |
| Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School | 69.5 | 3.7% | 10.8% | 1,555 | 2.3 miles |
| Fort Pitt Grammar School | 65.9 | 6.2% | 14.9% | 1,009 | 2.4 miles |
| St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School | 40 | 8.1% | 35.6% | 1,084 | 2.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 38.35%
- English as an additional language
- 10.7%
- Overall absence
- 9.28%
- Persistent absence
- 30.13%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Maritime Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
The Rochester Grammar School2.3 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School2.3 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
Fort Pitt Grammar School2.4 miles
Secondary · Chatham
-
St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School2.6 miles
Secondary · Rochester
Other schools in Rochester
Leigh Academy Strood ranks 5th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Rochester.
- Maritime Academy Secondary
- Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School Secondary
- St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School Secondary
- The Rochester Grammar School Secondary
- The Thomas Aveling School Secondary
- All Faiths Children's Academy Primary
- Balfour Infant School Primary
- Bligh Primary School (Infants) Primary
- Bligh Primary School (Juniors) Primary
- Burham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cedar Children's Academy Primary
- Chattenden Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Leigh Academy Strood teach?
- Leigh Academy Strood teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Rochester.
- Who is the principal of Leigh Academy Strood?
- The principal of Leigh Academy Strood is Mr Jon Richardson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Leigh Academy Strood last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Leigh Academy Strood, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Leigh Academy Strood?
- Leigh Academy Strood has 1,311 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Leigh Academy Strood full?
- Leigh Academy Strood has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,311 on roll (87%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Leigh Academy Strood a faith school?
- No. Leigh Academy Strood has no designated religious character.
- Is Leigh Academy Strood a selective school?
- No. Leigh Academy Strood is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Leigh Academy Strood?
- Leigh Academy Strood is part of LEIGH ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Leigh Academy Strood have?
- The schools register lists Leigh Academy Strood's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Leigh Academy Strood's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 36.9 in 2022/23 and 41.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Leigh Academy Strood rank locally?
- Leigh Academy Strood ranked 11th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Leigh Academy Strood's absence rate?
- Leigh Academy Strood's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Leigh Academy Strood's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Leigh Academy Strood's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.