Rainham School for Girls
Derwent Way, Rainham, Gillingham, ME8 0BX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Trust
- THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Vicki Shaw
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Kemnal Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Gillingham and Rainham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,558
- Pupils on roll
- 1,622
- URN
- 136456
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01634362746
About this school
Rainham School for Girls is a girls' secondary academy in Gillingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,622 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Rainham School for Girls, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 21 April 2022, 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 | 265 | 281 | 271 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.4 | 46.1 | 44.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.01 -0.16 to +0.18 | +0.33 +0.16 to +0.49 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 29% | 40.2% | 29.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 64.4% | 63.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 51% | 44.1% | 45.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
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 Rainham School for Girls 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 | 43.4 | 34 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.1 | 36 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.3 | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,668 |
| 2023/24 | 1,630 |
| 2024/25 | 1,625 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Rainham School for Girls compares
Rainham School for Girls ranked 8th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 54% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.3 | 8.7% | 22.7% | 1,622 | — |
| The Howard School | 45.2 | 6.6% | 22.5% | 1,471 | 0.1 miles |
| Rainham Mark Grammar School | 62.7 | 5.4% | 10.5% | 1,568 | 0.6 miles |
| Leigh Academy Rainham | — | 6.2% | 24.6% | 964 | 1.4 miles |
| The Robert Napier School | 32.5 | 11% | 50.4% | 1,048 | 1.7 miles |
| Chatham Grammar | 61.8 | 4.7% | 17% | 948 | 2.0 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)
- 22.69%
- English as an additional language
- 8.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.65%
- Persistent absence
- 25.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Howard School0.1 miles
Secondary · Gillingham
-
Rainham Mark Grammar School0.6 miles
Secondary · Gillingham
-
Leigh Academy Rainham1.4 miles
Secondary · Gillingham
-
The Robert Napier School1.7 miles
Secondary · Gillingham
-
Chatham Grammar2.0 miles
Secondary · Chatham
Other schools in Gillingham
Rainham School for Girls ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Gillingham.
- Brompton Academy Secondary
- Leigh Academy Rainham Secondary
- Rainham Mark Grammar School Secondary
- The Howard School Secondary
- The Robert Napier School Secondary
- Barnsole Primary School Primary
- Brompton-Westbrook Primary School Primary
- Burnt Oak Primary School Primary
- Byron Primary School Primary
- Deanwood Primary School Primary
- Fairview Community Primary School Primary
- Featherby Infant and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Rainham School for Girls teach?
- Rainham School for Girls teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Gillingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Rainham School for Girls?
- The headteacher of Rainham School for Girls is Mrs Vicki Shaw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Rainham School for Girls been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Rainham School for Girls, 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 Rainham School for Girls?
- Rainham School for Girls has 1,622 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Rainham School for Girls full?
- Rainham School for Girls has capacity for 1,558 pupils and 1,622 on roll (104%), so it is at or above 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 Rainham School for Girls a faith school?
- No. Rainham School for Girls has no designated religious character.
- Is Rainham School for Girls a selective school?
- No. Rainham School for Girls is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Rainham School for Girls part of an academy trust?
- Rainham School for Girls is part of THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Rainham School for Girls's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.4 in 2022/23 and 44.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Rainham School for Girls compare with other schools in Medway?
- Rainham School for Girls ranked 8th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 54% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Rainham School for Girls's absence rate?
- Rainham School for Girls's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Rainham School for Girls's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Rainham School for Girls'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.