The Royal Harbour Academy
Marlowe Way, Ramsgate, CT12 6FA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- COASTAL ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Martin Jones
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Coastal Academies Trust
- Constituency
- East Thanet
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 916
- Pupils on roll
- 1,045
- URN
- 149554
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01843572500
About this school
The Royal Harbour Academy is a secondary academy in Ramsgate. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,045 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
This inspection took place when the school was registered as The Royal Harbour Academy (URN 135826).
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 168 | 180 |
| Attainment 8 score | 29.8 | 28.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.02 -1.24 to -0.80 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 11.9% | 15.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 35.7% | 34.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 8.3% | 9.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.4 | 2.3 |
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 Royal Harbour 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 | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 29.8 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 28.9 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 15% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 15.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 978 |
| 2024/25 | 1,013 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Royal Harbour Academy compares
The Royal Harbour Academy ranked 98th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 1% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 28.9 | 15.8% | 63.6% | 1,045 | — |
| Dane Court Grammar School | 65.3 | 6.3% | 21.1% | 1,152 | 1.3 miles |
| Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School | 64 | 7.2% | 16.9% | 1,334 | 1.4 miles |
| The Charles Dickens School | 42.5 | 9.8% | 43% | 1,117 | 1.5 miles |
| Hartsdown Academy | 32.1 | 14.9% | 64.3% | 868 | 2.3 miles |
| Ursuline College | 36.1 | 11.1% | 37.6% | 949 | 3.4 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)
- 63.59%
- English as an additional language
- 10.2%
- Overall absence
- 15.76%
- Persistent absence
- 43.31%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Dane Court Grammar School1.3 miles
Secondary · Broadstairs
-
Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School1.4 miles
Secondary · Ramsgate
-
The Charles Dickens School1.5 miles
Secondary · Broadstairs
-
Hartsdown Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Margate
-
Ursuline College3.4 miles
Secondary · Westgate-on-Sea
Other schools in Ramsgate
- Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School Secondary
- Chilton Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Church of England Junior School, Ramsgate Primary
- Dame Janet Primary Academy Primary
- Ellington Infant School Primary
- Minster Church of England Primary School Primary
- Monkton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Newington Community Primary School Primary
- Newlands Primary School Primary
- Priory Infant School Primary
- Ramsgate Arts Primary School Primary
- St Ethelbert's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Royal Harbour Academy teach?
- The Royal Harbour Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ramsgate.
- Who is the headteacher of The Royal Harbour Academy?
- The headteacher of The Royal Harbour Academy is Mr Martin Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Royal Harbour Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Royal Harbour 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 The Royal Harbour Academy?
- The Royal Harbour Academy has 1,045 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Royal Harbour Academy full?
- The Royal Harbour Academy has capacity for 916 pupils and 1,045 on roll (114%), 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 The Royal Harbour Academy a faith school?
- No. The Royal Harbour Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Royal Harbour Academy a selective school?
- No. The Royal Harbour Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Royal Harbour Academy?
- The Royal Harbour Academy is part of COASTAL ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Royal Harbour Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 29.8 in 2023/24 and 28.9 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 Royal Harbour Academy rank locally?
- The Royal Harbour Academy ranked 98th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 1% 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 Royal Harbour Academy's absence rate?
- The Royal Harbour Academy's overall absence rate is 15.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Royal Harbour Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Royal Harbour 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 10 July 2026.