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St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School

Secondary · Rochester · ME1 2FA

Data updated

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Requires improvement

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: Requires improvementPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: Requires improvementSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 29 October 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,084 pupils · 91% of 1,185 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
36.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
21.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
16.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.stjohnfisher.school
URN
118908

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 102 families named it first for 174 Year 7 places, 0.59 first choices per place. We hold one Year 7 admissions round for it, 2025 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 29 October 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Requires improvement. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 9.2% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.59 first-choice applications per place

174 places offered · 102 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2025 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2025 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2025, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

179 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
40
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
50.3%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
32.4%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.3
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) D+
24.8
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school40
Median of its 12 closest peers44.5
Medway average46.8
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Lyndon SchoolSolihull · 123 miles awayStrong standard49.7
Bellerive FCJ Catholic CollegeLiverpool · 201 miles awayExpected standard47.3
Burnt Mill AcademyHarlow · 33 miles awayGood45.2
Cockburn SchoolLeeds · 186 miles awayOutstanding49.1
Co-op Academy SwintonManchester · 191 miles awayGood44.6
Ralph Thoresby SchoolLeeds · 193 miles awayGood39.7
Trinity High School and Sixth Form CentreRedditch · 123 miles awayGood39.2
Arena AcademyBirmingham · 131 miles awayGood44.5
DSLV E-ACT AcademyDaventry · 94 miles awayGood37.2
Darwen Aldridge Community AcademyDarwen · 203 miles awayRequires improvement36.5
Bishop Justus CofE SchoolBromley · 20 miles awayRequires improvement37.8
Oulder Hill Leadership AcademyRochdale · 192 miles awayGood44.4

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 32% (Medway 59%, England 59%) · Black African 31% (Medway 15%, England 5%) · Any other White background 9% (Medway 6%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 4% (Medway 3%, England 4%) · Asian Bangladeshi 4% (Medway 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Medway 3%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 3% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Not recorded 3% (Medway 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Medway 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Medway 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Medway 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Medway 1%, England 3%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Medway 0%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Medway 1%, England 5%) · Any other Black background 1% (Medway 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 0%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
9.2%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
23.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

16.56 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Medway: 23.11 suspensions and 0.30 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
20.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

79% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school · 13% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained secondaries: 0.22% vacant, 0.42% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

71% of teachers took sickness absence, 14.8 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,787; 14.1% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£8,168
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (77%) · premises 10% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 5% (7%) · supplies and services 11% (10%) · educational supplies 6% (6%) · bought-in professional services 3% (2%) · catering 2% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £816,451; in-year balance +£222,882

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
87%
Continuing in education
84%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
51%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
21%
Any sustained destination
79%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher29.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19.2%18.1%
In managerial or professional work28.4%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways20%18.1%
Residents in very good health48.2%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier52.5%62.3%
Social housing19.8%17.1%
Privately rented27.7%20.5%
Detached houses2.9%22.9%
Flats24.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms12%21.1%
Households with no car or van24.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01016020 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£270,000551 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£228,500–£315,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (13)£425,000
Semi-detached (75)£310,000
Terraced (390)£273,000
Flat (73)£175,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
7an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
15an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
42an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
11an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools