OFSTED
17 January 2023
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Good
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Girls
Religious character
—
Local authority
Kent
Trust
HIGHSTED ACADEMY TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
793
793 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
787
99.2% of pupils
Male pupils
6
0.8% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
12.9 pts
below England
School
11.9%
Swale
29.5%
South East
19.0%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
12.4 pts
below England
School
7.9%
Swale
8.3%
South East
15.6%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
2.9 pts
above England
School
3.9%
Swale
1.8%
South East
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
66.0%
523
African
12.6%
100
Any other White background
6.6%
52
Any other Mixed background
3.3%
26
White and Asian
2.1%
17
Indian
1.6%
13
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
7.7%
61 of
793 pupils
13.1 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
7.3 pts
below
England
6.0%
5.8 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
61.1
21.9 pts
above England
Latest published: -0.04 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
5.96%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
0.26 pts
lower than
England
School
5.96%
Swale
7.16%
South East
6.30%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
16.05%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
0.24 pts
higher than
England
School
16.05%
Swale
19.36%
South East
15.75%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
1.77%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
0.04 pts
lower than
England
School
1.77%
Swale
2.33%
South East
1.93%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
95.5%
3.2 pts
above England
Highsted Grammar School
95.5%
Swale
96.8%
South East
95.0%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.