Based in the heart of the Medway Towns, The Robert Napier School is a non-selective, mixed secondary school of 1100 students, including 130 in the Sixth Form. The school is an eclectic mix of the old and the new, with the original buildings constructed in the 1850s when the school was the original ‘Gillingham Grammar School’. Since then, the school has grown to include a range of buildings, the most recent being the ‘Caxton’ block, formally opened in 2011. The school has excellent facilities including state of the art ICT provision, a purpose-built lecture theatre, retractable bleacher seating in the hall to accommodate up to 380 people, a permanent stage with full lighting and sound rig, a multi-use games area, large playing fields and excellent sports facilities. The school also provides specialist Access to Mainstream Provision for vulnerable students, as well as a dedicated Visually Impaired unit.
Built upon the school motto of Learn, Believe, Achieve, we look to engender the school values of respect, trust, perseverance, resilience, fairness, and courage in all of our students, ensuring they are ready to contribute to their community when they leave us at the end of their studies. All staff are central to ensuring students have the right attitude towards their own learning and success, taking advantage of all of the opportunities afforded by the school and leave the school at the end of their studies, ready to contribute to the local community.
The school is a proud member of the Beyond Schools Trust. Working in partnership with the Robert Napier School, the Trust is made up of Fort Pitt Grammar School for Girls, The Thomas Aveling School, Balfour Junior School and Phoenix Junior School. All of the schools are located within a 5-mile radius and work closely to provide an outstanding education and opportunities for the children of Medway.
In January 2019, the school was delighted to be rated Good by Ofsted, having been rated requiring improvement and satisfactory in its three previous inspections. This was well deserved recognition of the hard work and dedication of the staff to drive improvements. The school continue to drive standards in all areas of the school, to ensure the students receive the best quality education and opportunities.
We value our staff, investing in their training and development at all stages of their career. Comprehensive, individualised training plans are drawn up for all staff, designed to meet their needs and enable them to take the next step in their career. New staff engage in a comprehensive induction programme and are allocated a subject specific mentor, as well as a dedicated coach all of which is aimed to ease your transition into the school.