Bradfields Academy
Churchill Avenue, Chatham, ME5 0LB
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 4 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- FORTIS TRUST
- Principal
- Mr David Waters
- Religious ethos
- None
- Constituency
- Chatham and Aylesford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 444
- Pupils on roll
- 452
- URN
- 140701
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01634683990
About this school
Bradfields Academy is a special academy in Chatham. It teaches children aged 4 to 19 and has 452 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 30 November 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | - | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -11.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -11.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -14.70 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 36 | 50 | 46 |
| Attainment 8 score | 0.4 | 0.3 | - |
| Progress 8 score | -1.64 -2.16 to -1.11 | -1.66 -2.08 to -1.23 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.0 | 0.0 | - |
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 Bradfields 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 | 0% | 56.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | — | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Medway average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0.4 | 34 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 0.3 | 36 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | — | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 375 |
| 2023/24 | 401 |
| 2024/25 | 416 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 49.36%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 9.27%
- Persistent absence
- 26.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
INSPIRE Free Special School0.0 miles
Free Schools · Chatham
-
PGW Partnership of Greenacre and Walderslade0.1 miles
Colleges · Chatham
-
The Rowans0.2 miles
Academies · Chatham
-
Blue Skies School1.5 miles
Special schools · Chatham
-
Medway Secure Training Centre1.5 miles
Other types · Rochester
Other schools in Chatham
- Blue Skies School Special schools
- INSPIRE Free Special School Free Schools
- The Rowans Academies
- 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
- Lordswood School Primary
- Luton Primary School Primary
- Maundene School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bradfields Academy teach?
- Bradfields Academy teaches children aged 4 to 19. It is a special school in Chatham.
- Who is the principal of Bradfields Academy?
- The principal of Bradfields Academy is Mr David Waters, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bradfields Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bradfields 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 big is Bradfields Academy?
- Bradfields Academy has 452 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 19.
- Is Bradfields Academy full?
- Bradfields Academy has capacity for 444 pupils and 452 on roll (102%), 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 Bradfields Academy a faith school?
- No. Bradfields Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Bradfields Academy?
- Bradfields Academy is part of FORTIS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bradfields Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Bradfields Academy's absence rate?
- Bradfields Academy's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bradfields Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bradfields 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.