The Abbey School

Swale · ME13 8RZ

General information Secondary School · 11-19 years Who goes here 1061 pupils, 40.3% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN SEN unit + resourced provision · 15.4% on SEN support Behaviour 13.1% absence rate Staff 26.4% turnover Financials £7,995 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Abbey School

General Information

Address: London Road, Faversham, ME13 8RZ – View on map
Phone: 01795532633
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Dr Rowland Speller
Age range: 11-19 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 119 families put it first for 168 places – 7 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 168 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2024 7 · 2025 6 · 2026 7
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1061 pupils out of 1226 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 380
% eligible for free school meals: 40.3%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Swale average)
English as an additional language: 9% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 26.4% a year (Swale 18%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 42% moved to another school, 58% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 2 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Kent: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 155 (1.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 189 (1.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 83 (0.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Kent (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 13.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 38.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

SEN unit for Autism 44 places · 43 pupils at the last count
Resourced provision for Autism 44 places · 43 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 15.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 6.9%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 74 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 45 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 25 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 56 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 10 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card January 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Needs attention
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Sixth form (post-16) Strong standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Inadequate (2022). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Attainment 8 score: 35.5
Compared with the area: 6.8 points below the Swale average (42.3)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−8.1 points against an expected 43.6)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 51% (Swale 59%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolSwale averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2023/24 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 6.8 points below the Swale average (42.3).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

5th of 8 secondary schools in Swale for Attainment 8

#3Highsted Grammar School61.1
#4Westlands School40.6
#5The Abbey School35.5
#6Fulston Manor School35.3
#7The Sittingbourne School34.1

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School65.1
#2Borden Grammar School63.2
#3Highsted Grammar School61.1
#4Westlands School40.6
#5The Abbey School35.5
#6Fulston Manor School35.3
#7The Sittingbourne School34.1
#8Leigh Academy Minster28.4

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
History
Art & Design
Spanish
Geography
French Language
Physics (General)
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Dance: General
Speech & Drama
Religious Studies
Community Development
Psychology (General)

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,995 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

3rd of 9 secondary schools in Swale for spending per pupil

#1EKC Sheppey Secondary£11,904
#2The Sittingbourne School£8,046
#3The Abbey School£7,995
#4Leigh Academy Minster£7,897
#5Westlands School£7,250

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1EKC Sheppey Secondary£11,904
#2The Sittingbourne School£8,046
#3The Abbey School£7,995
#4Leigh Academy Minster£7,897
#5Westlands School£7,250
#6Fulston Manor School£7,001
#7Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School£6,966
#8Borden Grammar School£6,881
#9Highsted Grammar School£6,466

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Kent: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

GCSE Subjects Offered