The Whitstable School
Bellevue Road, Whitstable, CT5 1PX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SWALE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Alex Holmes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Swale Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Canterbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,220
- Pupils on roll
- 1,112
- URN
- 144354
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227931300
About this school
The Whitstable School is a secondary academy in Whitstable. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,112 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
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 | 153 | 201 | 217 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.8 | 37.6 | 39.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.56 -0.78 to -0.33 | -0.52 -0.72 to -0.32 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 29.4% | 29% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 55.2% | 58.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 59% | 59.2% | 67.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
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 Whitstable 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 | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.8 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 37.6 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.3 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,080 |
| 2023/24 | 1,122 |
| 2024/25 | 1,109 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Whitstable School compares
The Whitstable School ranked 66th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.3 | 9.1% | 27% | 1,112 | — |
| Herne Bay High School | 36.8 | 9.7% | 33.3% | 1,507 | 3.3 miles |
| The Archbishop's School | 35.2 | 15.4% | 55.3% | 770 | 4.2 miles |
| The Canterbury Academy | 39 | 10.9% | 34% | 1,984 | 5.1 miles |
| Orion Spires | 36.1 | 8.7% | 41.2% | 620 | 5.4 miles |
| Barton Court Grammar School | 66.4 | 4.6% | 11.4% | 995 | 5.6 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
- 12 March 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report14 December 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.99%
- English as an additional language
- 1.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.1%
- Persistent absence
- 27.39%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Herne Bay High School3.3 miles
Secondary · Herne Bay
-
The Archbishop's School4.2 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
The Canterbury Academy5.1 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Orion Spires5.4 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Barton Court Grammar School5.6 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
Other schools in Whitstable
- Joy Lane Primary Foundation School Primary
- St Alphege Church of England Infant School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable Primary
- Swalecliffe Community Primary School Primary
- Westmeads Community Infant School Primary
- Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School Primary
- Whitstable Junior School Primary
- The Far Academy CIC Other types
Common questions
- What year groups does The Whitstable School teach?
- The Whitstable School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Whitstable.
- Who is the headteacher of The Whitstable School?
- The headteacher of The Whitstable School is Mr Alex Holmes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Whitstable School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Whitstable 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 big is The Whitstable School?
- The Whitstable School has 1,112 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Whitstable School full?
- The Whitstable School has capacity for 1,220 pupils and 1,112 on roll (91%), 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 Whitstable School a faith school?
- No. The Whitstable School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Whitstable School a selective school?
- No. The Whitstable School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Whitstable School?
- The Whitstable School is part of SWALE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Whitstable School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.8 in 2022/23 and 39.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Whitstable School rank locally?
- The Whitstable School ranked 66th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% 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 Whitstable School's absence rate?
- The Whitstable School's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Whitstable School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Whitstable 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 10 July 2026.