Holcombe Grammar School
Holcombe, Maidstone Road, Chatham, ME4 6JB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Trust
- THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Lee Preston
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Sponsor
- The Thinking Schools Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Chatham and Aylesford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,000
- Pupils on roll
- 1,060
- URN
- 136594
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 03333602130
About this school
Holcombe Grammar School is a boys' secondary academy in Chatham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,060 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Holcombe Grammar School, and its latest judgement is set out 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 13 March 2024, 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 | 147 | 137 | 150 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.9 | 59.9 | 62.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.06 -0.17 to +0.29 | +0.15 -0.09 to +0.39 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 82% | 86.1% | 84.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 95% | 97.8% | 96.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 25% | 96.4% | 96.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.0 | 5.7 | 6.0 |
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 Holcombe Grammar School 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 | 57.9 | 34 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 59.9 | 36 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 62.4 | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,067 |
| 2023/24 | 1,033 |
| 2024/25 | 1,036 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holcombe Grammar School compares
Holcombe Grammar School ranked 5th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 62.4 | 5.4% | 13.3% | 1,060 | — |
| The Victory Academy | 35.5 | 9.8% | 45.1% | 1,213 | 0.6 miles |
| The Thomas Aveling School | 41.3 | 9.4% | 33.4% | 1,201 | 0.7 miles |
| St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School | 40 | 8.1% | 35.6% | 1,084 | 0.8 miles |
| The Rochester Grammar School | 68.4 | 4.4% | 11.7% | 1,206 | 0.9 miles |
| Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School | 69.5 | 3.7% | 10.8% | 1,555 | 0.9 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)
- 13.32%
- English as an additional language
- 9.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.36%
- Persistent absence
- 14.1%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Victory Academy0.6 miles
Secondary · Chatham
-
The Thomas Aveling School0.7 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School0.8 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
The Rochester Grammar School0.9 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School0.9 miles
Secondary · Rochester
Other schools in Chatham
Holcombe Grammar School ranks 2nd of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Chatham.
- Chatham Grammar Secondary
- Fort Pitt Grammar School Secondary
- Greenacre School Secondary
- The Victory Academy 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 Holcombe Grammar School teach?
- Holcombe Grammar School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chatham.
- Who is the principal of Holcombe Grammar School?
- The principal of Holcombe Grammar School is Mr Lee Preston, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Holcombe Grammar School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holcombe Grammar School, 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 Holcombe Grammar School?
- Holcombe Grammar School has 1,060 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Holcombe Grammar School full?
- Holcombe Grammar School has capacity for 1,000 pupils and 1,060 on roll (106%), 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 Holcombe Grammar School a faith school?
- No. Holcombe Grammar School has no designated religious character.
- Is Holcombe Grammar School a selective school?
- Yes. Holcombe Grammar School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Is Holcombe Grammar School part of an academy trust?
- Holcombe Grammar School 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.
- How have Holcombe Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.9 in 2022/23 and 62.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holcombe Grammar School compare with other schools in Medway?
- Holcombe Grammar School ranked 5th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holcombe Grammar School's absence rate?
- Holcombe Grammar School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holcombe Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holcombe Grammar School'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.