Updated October 2019

Entries on this page include the OFSTED Grade for each Primary School updated twice a year, also recording change from previous Inspection result, together with some other relevant information below. It is worth using the search engine on the Home Page to pick up other references to individual schools.

You will find advice on Primary school Admissions and Appeals here. 

You can read the full Report on each Primary School at OFSTED. Each school is awarded a main Grade: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement (previously Satisfactory), and Inadequate (two sub categories - A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better - A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school). Each Report carries a brief description of the school before justifying its decision in more detail. If a school is in Special Measures or Serious Weaknesses, the results of further monitoring visits are noted.

A majority of the schools that have previously had a 'Good' or 'Outstanding' assessment are given a Short Inspection (known as Section 8). These are indicated by 'Good (S). These will be confirmed in their assessment grade. However for some of these schools, the Inspection Team may consider that there are concerns, or in the case of a Good school, grounds for raising the Grade and this can only be done by a full Section Five Grade. These are recorded for example as  'Outstanding (SC) or 'Good (SR). 

You will find an analysis of oversubscription and vacancies for  Tunbridge Wells Primary Places for September 2019 Allocations here, for 2018 here, for 2017 here, and for 2016 here.

You will find a good website to provide a host of factual data about individual Kent schools here.

Reports on Inspections between between September 2018 and July 2019  are in the first table, followed by other tables containing older ones.

(A) Indicates the school is an Academy (2017 onwards)  

Excerpt from TW Section of article on Oversubscription and Vacancies in Kent Primary Schools 2015: "Just 29 places free at two schools, 3% of the total, 23 being at Rusthall St Paul’s CofE. The other 6 are at the new Skinners Kent Primary Academy, which has also had nine children allocated. " 

Information from Oversubscription Survey of Kent primary schools, for entry September 2014.

Tunbridge Wells is usually the eye of the storm, but the situation has eased this year, even though several schools have actually reduced intake. The controversial plan to expand Bishops Down Primary from 30 to 60 places was once again reversed, this time by governors frustrated by KCC’s inability to sort out the problems,  and with Claremont School again taking just 60 children instead of the 90 in 2012, there is a much higher proportion of siblings than normal offered places in both schools, so non-siblings have lost out. Even though Claremont turned away 30 first choices, this is surprisingly a fall from last year’s 45 when it was the fifth most oversubscribed school in Kent. Pembury and St Matthew’s High Brooms CofE have both reduced their intakes by 30 down to 60 children. Most oversubscribed schools are St John’s CofE and St James CofE, the Wells Free School, in its second year with an intake of just 24 in fifth place with 20 first choices turned away. Even though there are four schools with vacancies, 71 children were allocated to schools they did not apply for, with nearly half of these going to Temple Grove Academy, showing it has not yet lost the mantle of its previous name, Sherwood Park.

2012-2013 Reports

Pre September 2012 Reports

See articles on Tunbridge Wells Primary Schools and Bishops Down

Pressures on Tunbridge Wells Primary Schools for 2012 Entry (written March 2012)