The Howard School
Derwent Way, Rainham, Gillingham, ME8 0BX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE HOWARD ACADEMY TRUST
- Head of School
- Mr Jasbinder Johal
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Howard Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Gillingham and Rainham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,725
- Pupils on roll
- 1,471
- URN
- 141466
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01634388765
About this school
The Howard School is a boys' secondary academy in Gillingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,471 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Howard 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Exceptional
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 231 | 258 | 270 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.6 | 42.5 | 45.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.24 +0.05 to +0.42 | +0.24 +0.07 to +0.42 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 34.1% | 33% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 59.7% | 64.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 18% | 15.9% | 28.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
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 Howard 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 | 42.6 | 34 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.5 | 36 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.2 | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,508 |
| 2023/24 | 1,533 |
| 2024/25 | 1,534 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Howard School compares
The Howard School ranked 7th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.2 | 6.6% | 22.5% | 1,471 | — |
| Rainham School for Girls | 44.3 | 8.7% | 22.7% | 1,622 | 0.1 miles |
| Rainham Mark Grammar School | 62.7 | 5.4% | 10.5% | 1,568 | 0.5 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 22.46%
- English as an additional language
- 13.5%
- Overall absence
- 6.62%
- Persistent absence
- 19.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Rainham School for Girls0.1 miles
Secondary · Gillingham
-
Rainham Mark Grammar School0.5 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
The Howard School ranks 2nd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Gillingham.
- Brompton Academy Secondary
- Leigh Academy Rainham Secondary
- Rainham Mark Grammar School Secondary
- Rainham School for Girls 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 The Howard School teach?
- The Howard School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Gillingham.
- Who is the head of school of The Howard School?
- The head of school of The Howard School is Mr Jasbinder Johal, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Howard School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Howard 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 The Howard School?
- The Howard School has 1,471 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Howard School full?
- The Howard School has capacity for 1,725 pupils and 1,471 on roll (85%), 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 Howard School a faith school?
- No. The Howard School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Howard School a selective school?
- No. The Howard School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Howard School part of an academy trust?
- The Howard School is part of THE HOWARD ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Howard School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.6 in 2022/23 and 45.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Howard School compare with other schools in Medway?
- The Howard School ranked 7th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% 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 Howard School's absence rate?
- The Howard School's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Howard School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Howard 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 15 July 2026.