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The Thomas Aveling School

General Information

  • Address: Arethusa Road, Rochester, ME1 2UW – View on map
  • Phone: 01634844809
  • Website: Visit school website
  • Headteacher: Mrs Fiona Linter
  • Age range: 11-18 years
  • Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 233 families put it first for 204 places – 11 for every 10 places. 75% of them were offered a place. 1 of the 204 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 14 · 2024 14 · 2025 13 · 2026 11
  • Sixth form: Yes
  • Intake: Mixed
  • Religious character: None
  • Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1201 pupils out of 1204 places At or near capacity
  • Pupils eligible for free school meals: 327
  • % eligible for free school meals: 32.5%
  • Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (less mixed than the Medway average)
  • English as an additional language: 13% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

  • Teacher turnover: 9.5% a year (Medway 17.9%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
  • Where they went: about 66% moved to another school, 34% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
  • Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

Across Medway: suspensions by reason

  • Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 30 (1.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
  • Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
  • Suspensions for bullying: 35 (1.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
  • Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 20 (0.9 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 Medway, 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: 9.4%
  • Persistently absent pupils: 26.5%
  • Data year: 2024/25

SEN

  • Resourced provision for Hearing impairment 20 places · 14 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: 20.1%
  • Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.8%
  • Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

  • Social, emotional and mental health: 83 pupils
  • Specific learning difficulty: 41 pupils
  • Speech, language and communications needs: 39 pupils
  • Autistic spectrum disorder: 27 pupils
  • Other difficulty or disability: 19 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

  • Hearing impairment: 12 pupils
  • Autistic spectrum disorder: 10 pupils
  • Social, emotional and mental health: 10 pupils
  • Specific learning difficulty: 8 pupils
  • Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

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Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

  • Attainment 8 score: 41.3
  • Compared with the area: 6.0 points below the Medway average (47.3)
  • Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−2.5 points against an expected 43.8)
  • Grade 4+ in English and maths: 56% (Medway 65%, England 65%) Falling
  • Data year: 2024/25

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

GCSE results over time

2022/232023/242024/2543.842.941.3
This schoolMedway averageEngland Falling Down 2.5 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 6.0 points below the Medway average (47.3).

Leaver Destinations

  • In education, employment, or training a year later: 89.0%
  • Went into further education: 83.0%
  • Data year: 2024/25

GCSE Subjects Offered

  • Maths (General)
  • English Language
  • English Literature
  • Science Double Award
  • Business Studies
  • Religious Studies
  • Geography
  • History
  • Art & Design
  • Sports Studies
  • Media Studies
  • D & T
  • Spanish
  • Computer Science
  • Photography
  • French Language
  • Italian
  • Biology
  • Physics (General)
  • Chemistry (General)
  • Dance: General
  • Speech & Drama
  • Food Technology
  • Music Studies (General)
  • Turkish
  • Polish
  • Russian
  • Chinese

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,495 (2024-25)

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