Waterfront UTC

About Waterfront UTC

Waterfront UTC is a 14-19 state secondary in Medway that currently has 362 pupils on roll, well above its official capacity of 250. That oversubscription is notable given the school’s intake profile: 34.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is significantly higher than the national secondary average of around 23%, suggesting the school serves a relatively disadvantaged catchment. The school is mixed and non-religious, with no nursery provision. Despite the high demand, the school’s admission information doesn’t indicate a selective entry process, so the oversubscription likely reflects local need for a technical-focused option for older teenagers. Headteacher Fiona McLean leads a school that has clearly grown in popularity since its previous inspection, when it was rated Inadequate in 2018. The turnaround since then has been substantial, and the current pupil numbers suggest families in Medway are giving it a chance.

Academically, Waterfront UTC’s results are mixed and sit well below local averages. Its Progress 8 score in 2023/24 was -0.9, meaning pupils achieved nearly a grade less per subject than similar students nationally. That places the school 15th out of 18 secondary schools in Medway, and in the bottom 5% nationally. The local authority average Progress 8 is -0.1, so Waterfront is significantly behind its Medway peers. Attainment 8 was 31.6, and only 37% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths (the basics 94 measure), dropping to 15.1% at grade 5 or above. No pupils entered the EBacc, and the EBacc average point score was just 2.3. The school’s strongest subject area was maths, with a Progress 8 of -0.14, while English was much weaker at -1.21. The sixth form provision was rated Good in the 2023 Ofsted inspection, but the overall KS4 outcomes remain a concern for parents prioritising academic results.

The school offers a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, tennis courts, music rooms, library, ICT suite, chapel, and a sixth form centre. Sports on offer include football, hockey, swimming, gymnastics, athletics, and cricket, while extracurricular clubs cover drama, choir, coding, DofE, newspaper, debate, science club, eco club, Young Enterprise, and chess. SEND provision is extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication issues, hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. This makes it a potentially strong fit for families whose children need additional support in a technical setting. However, with a Progress 8 ranking of 15 out of 18 in Medway, parents focused on academic outcomes may want to compare it with the nearest Outstanding school, Fort Pitt Grammar School, 3.1 km away. Waterfront UTC suits families who value a specialist 14-19 environment with strong pastoral and SEND support over traditional academic league table performance.

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