Waterfront UTC
South Side Three Road, Chatham, ME4 4FQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- University technical college
- Ages
- 14 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE HOWARD ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Fiona McLean
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Howard Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Rochester and Strood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 250
- Pupils on roll
- 381
- URN
- 146648
- Local authority
- Medway
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01634505800
About this school
Waterfront UTC is a secondary school in Chatham. It teaches children aged 14 to 19 and has 381 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Waterfront UTC, 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
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 | 54 | 73 | 75 |
| Attainment 8 score | 28.6 | 31.6 | 30.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.33 -1.72 to -0.95 | -0.90 -1.23 to -0.57 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 7% | 15.1% | 20% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 17% | 37% | 37.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
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 Waterfront UTC 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 | 28.6 | 34 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 31.6 | 36 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 30 | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 267 |
| 2023/24 | 340 |
| 2024/25 | 362 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Waterfront UTC compares
Waterfront UTC ranked 16th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 22% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 30 | 11.7% | 37% | 381 | — |
| Brompton Academy | 38.1 | 8.7% | 39.8% | 1,399 | 1.1 miles |
| The Robert Napier School | 32.5 | 11% | 50.4% | 1,048 | 1.5 miles |
| Chatham Grammar | 61.8 | 4.7% | 17% | 948 | 1.6 miles |
| Maritime Academy | — | 9.9% | 32.2% | 736 | 1.8 miles |
| Fort Pitt Grammar School | 65.9 | 6.2% | 14.9% | 1,009 | 1.9 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)
- 37.04%
- English as an additional language
- 9.1%
- Overall absence
- 11.68%
- Persistent absence
- 33.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brompton Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Gillingham
-
The Robert Napier School1.5 miles
Secondary · Gillingham
-
Chatham Grammar1.6 miles
Secondary · Chatham
-
Maritime Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Rochester
-
Fort Pitt Grammar School1.9 miles
Secondary · Chatham
Other schools in Chatham
Waterfront UTC ranks 5th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Chatham.
- Chatham Grammar Secondary
- Fort Pitt Grammar School Secondary
- Greenacre School Secondary
- Holcombe Grammar School Secondary
- The Victory Academy Secondary
- Walderslade School 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 Waterfront UTC teach?
- Waterfront UTC teaches children aged 14 to 19. It is a secondary school in Chatham.
- Who is the headteacher of Waterfront UTC?
- The headteacher of Waterfront UTC is Mrs Fiona McLean, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Waterfront UTC been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Waterfront UTC, 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 Waterfront UTC?
- Waterfront UTC has 381 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 14 to 19.
- Is Waterfront UTC full?
- Waterfront UTC has capacity for 250 pupils and 381 on roll (152%), 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 Waterfront UTC a faith school?
- No. Waterfront UTC has no designated religious character.
- Is Waterfront UTC a selective school?
- No. Waterfront UTC is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Waterfront UTC part of an academy trust?
- Waterfront UTC 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 Waterfront UTC's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 28.6 in 2022/23 and 30 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Waterfront UTC compare with other schools in Medway?
- Waterfront UTC ranked 16th of 18 secondary schools in Medway for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 22% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Waterfront UTC's absence rate?
- Waterfront UTC's overall absence rate is 11.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Waterfront UTC's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Waterfront UTC'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.