Gillingham School has maintained its rating of ‘good’ following a recent report by the schools inspectorate Ofsted.

An inspector visited the school on 11 July and in a letter to the outgoing head teacher Lorna Lyons said: ‘The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

‘You and other senior leaders have high aspirations for pupils because you want the very best for them.’

The inspector praised the school’s curriculum and also the pastoral care it provides for pupils.

They also noted that bullying was rare and where it did occur was dealt with ‘effectively’.

However, the report does say that absenteeism is still too high for ‘certain groups of pupils’ despite the school’s best efforts.

Lorna Lyons retired as head teacher in July and the new head teacher is Paul Nicholson who was previously at the Westgate School in Winchester.