Featherby Junior School
Chilham Road, Gillingham, ME8 6BT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MARITIME ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Emma Pape
- Sponsor
- Maritime Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Gillingham and Rainham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 348
- URN
- 144969
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01634231984
About this school
Featherby Junior School is a primary academy in Gillingham. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 348 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Featherby Junior School, 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
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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 90 | 92 | 90 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 57% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 7% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 59% | 67% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 51% | 78% | 74% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 53% | 68% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.60 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How Featherby Junior 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 | 47% | 56.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 339 |
| 2023/24 | 360 |
| 2024/25 | 358 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Featherby Junior School compares
Featherby Junior School ranked 31st of 57 primary schools in Medway for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 4.4% | 39.4% | 348 | — |
| Featherby Infant and Nursery School | — | 6.5% | 34.7% | 282 | 0.1 miles |
| Twydall Primary School and Nursery | 52% | 6.9% | 42.6% | 245 | 0.4 miles |
| St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School | — | 4.2% | 13.2% | 237 | 0.5 miles |
| The Academy of Woodlands | 69% | 6.5% | 43.4% | 758 | 0.5 miles |
| Barnsole Primary School | 52% | 6.6% | 37.1% | 609 | 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)
- 39.39%
- English as an additional language
- 7.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.42%
- Persistent absence
- 8.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Featherby Infant and Nursery School0.1 miles
Primary · Gillingham
-
Twydall Primary School and Nursery0.4 miles
Primary · Gillingham
-
St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Gillingham
-
The Academy of Woodlands0.5 miles
Primary · Gillingham
-
Barnsole Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Gillingham
Other schools in Gillingham
Featherby Junior School ranks 9th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Gillingham.
- 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
- Hempstead Infant School Primary
- Hempstead Junior School Primary
- Napier Community Primary and Nursery Academy Primary
- Oasis Academy Skinner Street Primary
- Parkwood Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Featherby Junior School teach?
- Featherby Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Gillingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Featherby Junior School?
- The headteacher of Featherby Junior School is Mrs Emma Pape, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Featherby Junior School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Featherby Junior 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 Featherby Junior School?
- Featherby Junior School has 348 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Featherby Junior School full?
- Featherby Junior School has capacity for 360 pupils and 348 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Featherby Junior School a faith school?
- No. Featherby Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Featherby Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Featherby Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Featherby Junior School part of an academy trust?
- Featherby Junior School is part of MARITIME ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Featherby Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 64% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Featherby Junior School compare with other schools in Medway?
- Featherby Junior School ranked 31st of 57 primary schools in Medway for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Featherby Junior School's absence rate?
- Featherby Junior School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Featherby Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Featherby Junior 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.