The Victory Academy
Magpie Hall Road, Chatham, ME4 5JB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Oliver Owen
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Thinking Schools Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Chatham and Aylesford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,213
- URN
- 136108
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 03333602140
About this school
The Victory Academy is a secondary academy in Chatham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,213 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Victory Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 202 | 222 | 219 |
| Attainment 8 score | 33.7 | 40.0 | 35.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.59 -0.80 to -0.39 | -0.36 -0.55 to -0.16 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 22% | 32% | 22.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 44% | 52.3% | 41.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 31% | 29.7% | 26.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
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 The Victory Academy 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 | 33.7 | 34 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40 | 36 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 35.5 | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,188 |
| 2023/24 | 1,192 |
| 2024/25 | 1,221 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Victory Academy compares
The Victory Academy ranked 14th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 35.5 | 9.8% | 45.1% | 1,213 | — |
| Holcombe Grammar School | 62.4 | 5.4% | 13.3% | 1,060 | 0.6 miles |
| Chatham Grammar | 61.8 | 4.7% | 17% | 948 | 0.8 miles |
| St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School | 40 | 8.1% | 35.6% | 1,084 | 0.9 miles |
| Brompton Academy | 38.1 | 8.7% | 39.8% | 1,399 | 1.0 miles |
| Fort Pitt Grammar School | 65.9 | 6.2% | 14.9% | 1,009 | 1.1 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)
- 45.1%
- English as an additional language
- 26.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.81%
- Persistent absence
- 27.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holcombe Grammar School0.6 miles
Secondary · Chatham
-
Chatham Grammar0.8 miles
Secondary · Chatham
-
St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School0.9 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
Brompton Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Gillingham
-
Fort Pitt Grammar School1.1 miles
Secondary · Chatham
Other schools in Chatham
The Victory Academy ranks 4th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Chatham.
- Chatham Grammar Secondary
- Fort Pitt Grammar School Secondary
- Greenacre School Secondary
- Holcombe Grammar School Secondary
- Walderslade School Secondary
- Waterfront UTC Secondary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Balfour Junior School Primary
- Greenvale Primary School Primary
- Horsted Infant School Primary
- Horsted Junior School Primary
- Kingfisher Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Victory Academy teach?
- The Victory Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chatham.
- Who is the principal of The Victory Academy?
- The principal of The Victory Academy is Mr Oliver Owen, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Victory Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Victory Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at The Victory Academy?
- The Victory Academy has 1,213 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Victory Academy full?
- The Victory Academy has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,213 on roll (81%), 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 The Victory Academy a faith school?
- No. The Victory Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Victory Academy a selective school?
- No. The Victory Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Victory Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Victory Academy is part of THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Victory Academy have?
- The schools register lists The Victory Academy's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Victory Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 33.7 in 2022/23 and 35.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Victory Academy compare with other schools in Medway?
- The Victory Academy ranked 14th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Victory Academy's absence rate?
- The Victory Academy's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Victory Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Victory Academy'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.