Amherst School

Amherst School is performing well overall, with a 'Good' rating in key areas such as the quality of education, leadership, and management. The school fosters a warm and welcoming environment where pupils thrive, benefiting from a broad curriculum and an impressive range of extra-curricular activities that enhance their learning experience. Pupils demonstrate exceptional confidence, self-assurance, and behaviour, and they feel safe and well-supported by staff. The school community expresses pride in the institution, highlighting its positive influence on local families. However, leaders recognize that there are areas needing improvement, particularly in foundation subjects like geography and art, where the specific knowledge targets are not yet fully established. Assessments in these subjects also require further refinement to ensure that teachers have the necessary information to facilitate effective learning. Overall, while there are notable strengths and positive feedback from parents and pupils, the school is aware of the need to enhance its curriculum planning and assessment processes to secure consistent learning outcomes across all subjects.

Strengths

• Pupils experience a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
• The school promotes exceptional behaviour and attitudes among pupils.
• Strong emphasis on reading supports pupils, including those with SEND.
• Effective leadership inspires and motivates staff.
• Robust arrangements for safeguarding create a safe environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Foundation subjects like geography and art lack specific learning objectives.
• Assessment in some foundation subjects is not fully developed.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Amherst School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.8% of pupils at Amherst School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Amherst School had 24.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.3% of pupils at Amherst School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Amherst School received £6,867 and spent £6,872 for each of its 376 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £197,000 (£524 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Sevenoaks · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Amherst School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Amherst School is Good, from an inspection in July 2022.

When was Amherst School last inspected by Ofsted?

Amherst School was last inspected in July 2022.

How many pupils does Amherst School have?

Amherst School has 385 pupils on roll.

What age range does Amherst School cover?

Amherst School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Amherst School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Amherst School?

Amherst School is at Witches Lane, Riverhead, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 2AX.