Schools in Rochester
Rochester has 50 schools - 34 primary and 6 secondary - with admissions co-ordinated by Kent County Council. Like the rest of Kent, Rochester sits within a partly selective secondary system: parents who want a grammar-school place must register for the 11+ transfer test by September of Year 5.
Non-selective secondaries in Rochester use oversubscription criteria that typically include catchment area, sibling links and straight-line distance. KCC publishes admissions guides each autumn covering all maintained schools in Medway and Kent, and last-distance-offered figures are updated annually.
School demand in Rochester
Across the 47 schools in Rochester with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 91%. 16 of them are currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.
12 schools in Rochester have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
30 of the schools in Rochester are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Kent, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
17 of the schools in Rochester have a current Ofsted rating, of which 17 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Rochester: 13 oversubscribed (34)
Higham Primary School
Primary · Community school
Rochester · ME3 7JL
Balfour Infant School
Primary · Community school
Rochester · ME1 2QT
Crest Infant School
Primary · Community school
Rochester · ME1 2QA
St Peter's Infant School
Primary · Community school
Rochester · ME1 2HU
Burham Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Rochester · ME1 3SY
Wouldham, All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Rochester · ME1 3GE
St Helen's Church of England Primary School, Cliffe
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Rochester · ME3 7PU
St Nicholas CEVC Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Rochester · ME2 3HU
Cliffe Woods Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME3 8UJ
Leigh Academy High Halstow
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME3 8TF
All Faiths Children's Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME2 4UF
Chattenden Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME3 8LF
St James Church of England Primary Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME3 0BS
Gordons Children's Academy, Junior
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME2 3HQ
Gordons Children's Academy, Infant
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME2 3HQ
Warren Wood Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME1 2UR
Cuxton Community Junior School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME2 1EY
Cuxton Community Infant School
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME2 1EY
Leigh Academy Peninsula East
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME3 9HR
Temple Mill Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME2 3NL
Cedar Children's Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME2 2JP
Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME3 9BS
The Pilgrim School (A Church of England Primary With Nursery)
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME1 3LF
Bligh Primary School (Juniors)
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME2 2XJ
St Margaret's at Troy Town CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME1 1YF
Bligh Primary School (Infants)
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME2 2XJ
Hilltop Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME2 4QN
Elaine Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME2 2YN
Halling Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME2 1ER
Wainscott Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME2 4JX
Delce Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME1 2NJ
Rochester Riverside Church of England Primary School
Primary · Free schools
Rochester · ME1 1US
English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME2 4JA
St William of Perth Roman Catholic Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME1 3EN
Secondary Schools in Rochester (6)
St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School
Secondary · Voluntary aided school
Rochester · ME1 2FA
Leigh Academy Strood
Secondary · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME2 2SX
The Rochester Grammar School
Secondary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME1 3BY
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School
Secondary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME1 3EL
The Thomas Aveling School
Secondary · Academy converter
Rochester · ME1 2UW
Maritime Academy
Secondary · Free schools
Rochester · ME2 4YG
Other Schools in Rochester (10)
Gad's Hill School
Not applicable · Other independent school
Rochester · ME3 7PA
King's School, Rochester
Not applicable · Other independent school
Rochester · ME1 1TE
St Andrew's School (Rochester)
Not applicable · Other independent school
Rochester · ME1 1SA
Rochester Independent College
Not applicable · Other independent school
Rochester · ME1 1HY
Abbey Court Foundation Special School
Not applicable · Community special school
Rochester · ME2 3SP
Medway Secure Training Centre
Not applicable · Secure units
Rochester · ME1 3YB
Ripplevale School Rochester
Not applicable · Other independent special school
Rochester · ME1 1BG
Leigh Academy Hundred of Hoo
Special · Academy sponsor led
Rochester · ME3 9HH
City of Rochester School
Not applicable · Other independent special school
Rochester · ME3 8UJ
FORWARD2 EMPLOYMENT LIMITED
Not applicable · Special post 16 institution
Rochester · ME2 2LS
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Rochester are set by Kent and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.