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Fordcombe Church of England Primary School

Primary Ages 4-11 57 pupils Tunbridge Wells

Fordcombe Church of England Primary School is an academy converter in Tunbridge Wells for pupils aged 4 to 11. It has a Church of England religious character. It has 57 pupils on roll. In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. Attendance is a concern: pupils missed 8.2% of sessions in 2024/25 (the national figure for primary schools is 5.2%), and 21% of pupils were persistently absent.

KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 4-11
Religion Church of England
Address The Green
Fordcombe
Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN3 0RY
Phone 01892740224
Reference Number 146400

General Makeup

Number of pupils 57
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 56.14%
Girls: 43.86%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 29.8%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 15.8%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 14.3
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 16
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 12.5

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 4 7 11
2 5 4 9
3 4 Unknown 4
4 2 1 3
5 7 3 10
6 2 6 8

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 78.9%
White, Other 14%
White & Asian 5.3%
Asian, Other 1.8%

Overall Ofsted Rating
Last Report Date 18 Oct 2022 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
18 Oct 2022 School inspection
11 Oct 2018 Academy conversion letter
10 Feb 2016 Full inspection:
Previously as Fordcombe Church of England Primary School
23 Jan 2014 Monitoring visit
23 Oct 2013 Full inspection:
01 Dec 2011 Full inspection:
10 Feb 2009 Full inspection:
09 Oct 2007 Curriculum and development visit
25 Apr 2006 Full inspection:
26 Feb 2001 Full inspection

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 62%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 23%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 107
Maths 106

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 3.1
Writing 4.2
Maths 1.2

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 8 0
Third Preference 15 0
From another Local Authority 2 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Fordcombe Church of England Primary School had 61 pupils for 105 places. 44 places (41.9%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Primary - Sevenoaks Rural South East” planning area

Kent counted 65 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 60 in 2029–30, down 8%.

201920212022202320242025
Places 105105105105105105
Pupils 9910189716261
Unfilled 5.7%3.8%15.2%32.4%41.0%41.9%

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 Fordcombe Church of England Primary School attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.3%5.0%5.8%5.2%5.1%6.0%
Unauthorised absence 1.0%1.1%1.4%0.7%2.9%2.2%
Severely absent pupils 2.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%1.7%3.6%

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, 0.0% of pupils at Fordcombe Church of England Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.03.04.28.81.40.00.0
Permanent exclusions 0000000

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 Fordcombe Church of England Primary School had 15.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 9.610.69.68.77.57.07.59.4
Teachers who left state teaching 0.0%18.9%15.9%16.7%0.0%10.9%22.2%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 25.0%–57.1%77.8%71.4%83.3%60.0%–
Sick days per teacher 0.5–2.413.04.07.43.2–

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, 7.0% of pupils at Fordcombe Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 1 1
Autistic spectrum disorder 0 1
Hearing impairment 1 0
No specialist assessment of need 1 0
Specific learning difficulty 1 0

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 Fordcombe Church of England Primary School received £9,477 and spent £10,145 for each of its 62 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £65,000 (£1,055 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of The Tenax Schools Trust, income was £7,568 and spending £7,384 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

202020212022202320242025
Revenue reserve £21,000£18,000£38,000£81,000£113,000£65,000
per pupil £214£192£414£1,163£1,946£1,055
In-year balance -£17,000-£45,000£28,000£58,000£52,000-£41,000
per pupil -£169-£469£308£828£903-£668

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.

Name Distance
Langton Green Primary School
Lampington Row, Langton Green, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0JG
1.16 miles
Speldhurst Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Langton Road, Speldhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0NP
1.79 miles
Holmewood House School
Barrow Lane, Tunbridge Wells, TN3 0EB
1.9 miles
Rusthall St Paul's CofE Primary School
High Street, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8RZ
2.08 miles
Penshurst Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
High Street, Penshurst, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 8BX
2.09 miles
Groombridge St Thomas' Church of England Primary School
Corseley Road, Groombridge, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 9SF
2.19 miles
Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School
Rydal Drive, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9SU
2.71 miles
Rose Hill School
Coniston Avenue, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9SY
2.86 miles
Bidborough Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Spring Lane, Bidborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0UE
3.01 miles
St Mark's Church of England Primary School
Ramslye Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8LN
3.03 miles
St Michael's Primary School
Station Road, Withyham, Hartfield, East Sussex, TN7 4BP
3.08 miles
Southborough CofE Primary School
Broomhill Park Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 0JY
3.25 miles
Chiddingstone Church of England School
Chiddingstone, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 7AH
3.4 miles
Broadwater Down Primary School
Broadwater Lane, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5RP
3.41 miles
The Wells Free School
King Charles Square, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8FA
3.49 miles
The Mead School
16 Frant Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5SN
3.64 miles
St Augustine's Catholic Primary School
Wilman Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9AL
3.7 miles
St John's Church of England Primary School
Cunningham Road, St John's Ce Primary School, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9EW
3.84 miles
St Barnabas CofE VA Primary School
Quarry Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 2EY
3.88 miles
St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School
High Street, Hartfield, East Sussex, TN7 4AA
4.01 miles
Name Distance
Broomhill Bank School
Broomhill Road, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0TB
2.41 miles
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School
Culverden Down, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9SH
2.93 miles
Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School
Southfield Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9UJ
3.39 miles
St Gregory's Catholic School
Reynolds Lane, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9XL
3.49 miles
The Skinners' School
St John's Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9PG
3.5 miles
Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
St John's Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 9XB
3.56 miles
Meadows School
London Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 0RJ
3.58 miles
Nexus Foundation Special School
Upper Haysden Lane, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 8AA
4.23 miles
Beechwood School
12 Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 3QD
4.63 miles
Leigh Academy Tonbridge
Brook Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2PH
4.75 miles
Skinners' Kent Academy
Sandown Park, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 4PY
4.87 miles
The Judd School
Brook Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2PN
4.87 miles

All schools in Tunbridge Wells · Kent local authority: places and applications

How many pupils does Fordcombe Church of England Primary School have?

Fordcombe Church of England Primary School has 57 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fordcombe Church of England Primary School cover?

Fordcombe Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Fordcombe Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Fordcombe Church of England Primary School?

Fordcombe Church of England Primary School is at The Green, Fordcombe, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0RY.

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