Index
- Oversubscription and Vacancies in Kent Primary Schools, 2019
- Page 3: Ashford; Canterbury; Cranbrook; Dartford
- Page 4: Dover, Deal & Sandwich; Favesham; Folkestone & Hythe; Gravesham
- Page 5: Malling; Sevenoaks; Sheppey; Sittingbourne; Swanley
- Page 6: Thanet; Tonbridge; Tunbridge Wells: Junior Schools
The only school seriously oversubscribed is Slade, normally Tonbridge’s most popular school (and most oversubscribed in Kent in 2017), turning away 31 first choices, followed by Sussex Road with 8. Half of the town’s 14 schools have vacancies, most as usual in the north of the town at Longmead Community (53% vacancies) and Cage Green (38%), both of which Require Improvement according to their latest Ofsted inspection. Next is Royal Rise with 33% whose most recent Ofsted placed it in Special Measures before it was academised in 2017 under the Cygnus Trust, which also has two schools in Dartford.
Temple Grove, usually the least popular school in the town, filled its 30 places this year thanks to 11 LAAs, although many of these won’t take them up as private education draws a number of children out of the system. This left Rusthall St Paul’s with 50% vacancies, followed by St Mark’s CofE with 30%, propped up by eight LAAs.
As a result, there are only three schools significantly oversubscribed, headed up by Whitstable & Seasalter Endowed CofE, as some families at Whitstable Juniors have attempt to switch for some years to a school with an Outstanding Ofsted and, normally very high KS2 results but not for 2018! But few will have been successful as Whitstable Juniors remains full in Year Three each September. St James’ CofE Junior in Tunbridge Wells had six unsuccessful first choices.
Five schools have 20% or more vacancies which may depend on other factors than their own reputation such as the number coming through from the linked Infant school, or other opportunities in the area. For example Sandwich Junior School had 48% vacancies, making 31 offers, not surprising with the feed in current Year Two at the Infant school having just 34 places filled for a PAN of 56. In Thanet, Christ Church CofE Juniors has 30% vacancies, but no specific linked Infant school, and St Laurence in Thanet CofE Juniors has 22%, linked to Ellington Infant which is usually undersubscribed. Ditton CofE Junior is also 22% undersubscribed but having attracted 50 of the 52 children from Year Two in the Infant school.