There were just two schools significantly oversubscribed. The Pilgrim School turned away 24 first choices, being Ofsted Outstanding with 90% of children reaching the Expected Standard, the highest performer in Medway. Next comes St William of Perth Catholic with 11 disappointed first choices. After them came St Margaret's at Troy Town and Balfour Infants, both turning away six first choices, and Halling Primary with three, another school with a very high proportion of children reaching 'Expected Level' at KS2, with 83%.
The only schools significantly oversubscribed are Hilltop Primary, with twelve first choices turned away, and Temple Mill (11), run by the Howard Academy Trust, up to Ofsted Good from Special Measures, and one of the best set of Progress Grades at KS2 in Medway.
Elaine Primary School, brought to its knees under the abysmal Williamson Trust as explained here, is now making good progress under the Inspire Partnership after it was re-brokered. Whilst it has 27 of its 54 places empty, this is better than in 2019 when there were 35. It has gone from having the lowest proportion of children reaching Expected Level at KS2 in Medway in 2018, to being midway in 2019, with progress across the three core subjects just above average. Maundene School in Chatham, also part of the Inspire Partnership, has gone from second lowest performer in 2018, to achieving a very similar middle of the table profile for 2019. My comments on Inspire via the link above were very much on the lines of ‘unproven’, but the evidence of how it can turn schools round is now clear, as must be hoped for by the families of Delce Academy in Rochester, see above. Unfortunately whilst a school can be ruined in one year, it can take five or more to restore its reputation with parents, but this is a good start.
Bligh Primary, historically a sound KS2 performer has been re-brokered to The Maritime Trust, along with Barnsole (see above), as it joined it at the foot of the 2019 performance table, and saw the number of vacancies increase to 16%, second highest in Strood.
For 2021 or 2022 entry, the new all through Maritime Academy run by Thinking Schools Academy Trust will open, admitting 60 Reception age children, so all this may be put at risk as there is not a great demand for additional places locally at present, and the less popular schools will be under pressure.
In Rochester, see the Delce Academy story above. Delce currently has capacity for 160 pupils, with 30 reserved for pupils from the Infant section. The current Year Two of Crest and St Peter’s infant schools have a combined total of 89 pupils, along with 27 from the Delce's own Infant section. The fact that just 59 places have been offered, leaving 71 empty spaces must be very worrying, as there are at least 30 children who have found places elsewhere, with Balfour Junior, being just half a mile from Delce oversubscribed by just six first choices.
The other schools with vacancies are Hempstead Junior (23), possibly still re-building its reputation after the troubles of four years ago, Gordon Junior (20), Phoenix Junior (13), and Featherby Junior (9, most recent Ofsted Special Measures in 2017, before being taken over by Maritime Academy Trust .