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Holywell Primary School

Primary Ages 5-11 212 pupils Sittingbourne
Ofsted: Good
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Holywell Primary School is an academy converter in Sittingbourne for pupils aged 5 to 11. It has 212 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Holywell Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2017 of its predecessor, Holywell Primary School. In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: July 2024. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 5-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Forge Lane
Upchurch
Sittingbourne
Kent
ME9 7AE
Phone 01634388416
Reference Number 147752

General Makeup

Number of pupils 212
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 52.83%
Girls: 47.17%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 14.6%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 5.2%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 30
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 30.5
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 29.7

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 19 11 30
2 14 16 30
3 20 11 31
4 11 21 32
5 18 13 31
6 16 11 27

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 88.2%
White & Black (Caribbean) 1.9%
White & Asian 1.4%
Asian, Other 1.4%
White, Other 0.9%
Chinese 0.9%
White & Black (African) 0.5%
African 0.5%
Mixed, Other 0.5%

This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, Holywell Primary School, inspected in November 2017.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 03 Jul 2024 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
03 Jul 2024 School inspection
06 Mar 2020 Academy conversion letter
02 Nov 2017 Short inspection
Previously as Holywell Primary School
24 Apr 2013 Full inspection:
03 Feb 2011 Full inspection:
16 Nov 2009 Curriculum and development visit
21 May 2008 Full inspection:
07 Mar 2005 Full inspection

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 84%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 19%

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 110
Maths 110

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 1.4
Writing 1.3
Maths 2.9

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 21 0
Third Preference 14 0
From another Local Authority 24 4

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Holywell Primary School had 208 pupils for 210 places. 2 places (1.0%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Primary - Sittingbourne Rural West” planning area

Kent counted 95 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 96 in 2029–30, up 1%.

20212022202320242025
Places 210210210210210
Pupils 195196198206208
Unfilled 7.1%6.7%5.7%1.9%1.0%

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 Holywell Primary School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20212022202320242025
Authorised absence 4.1%3.8%3.1%3.1%2.5%
Unauthorised absence 0.9%0.9%0.9%1.1%1.0%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%0.6%0.0%0.0%0.0%

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, 0.5% of pupils at Holywell Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

20212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 1.03.01.51.50.5
Permanent exclusions 00000

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 Holywell Primary School had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 11.610.49.210.910.712.0
Teachers who left state teaching 0.0%0.0%0.0%6.4%0.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 0.0%50.0%27.3%60.0%50.0%–
Sick days per teacher 0.07.50.51.03.1–

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, 13.7% of pupils at Holywell Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Social, emotional and mental health 9 1
Speech, language and communication needs 9 1
Moderate learning difficulty 5 0
Autistic spectrum disorder 2 2
Specific learning difficulty 3 0
No specialist assessment of need 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 Holywell Primary School received £6,221 and spent £6,198 for each of its 206 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £153,000 (£744 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Ekc Schools Trust Limited, income was £7,396 and spending £7,195 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

20212022202320242025
Revenue reserve £152,000£165,000£179,000£552,000£153,000
per pupil £777£815£969£2,731£744
In-year balance £95,000-£2,000£35,000£33,000£5,000
per pupil £487-£10£189£164£24

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
Lower Halstow Primary School
School Lane, Lower Halstow, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7ES
0.98 miles
Riverside Primary School
St Edmunds Way, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 8ET
1.52 miles
Newington Church of England Primary School
School Lane, Newington, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7LB
1.61 miles
Hartlip Endowed Church of England Primary School
The Street, Hartlip, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7TL
2.04 miles
St Margaret's Church of England Junior School
Orchard Street, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 9AE
2.2 miles
St Margaret's Infant School
St Margaret's Infant School, Orchard Street, Orchard Street, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 9AE
2.2 miles
Thames View Primary School
Bloors Lane, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 7DX
2.22 miles
Miers Court Primary School
Silverspot Close, Rainham, Kent, ME8 8JR
2.29 miles
Twydall Primary School and Nursery
Twydall Lane, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6JS
2.87 miles
Parkwood Primary School
Deanwood Drive, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 9LP
2.92 miles
St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School
Romany Road, Rainham, Romany Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6JH
2.92 miles
Bobbing Village School
Sheppey Way, Bobbing, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 8PL
3.04 miles
Featherby Infant and Nursery School
Allington Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6PD
3.21 miles
Grove Park Primary School
Hilton Drive, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 1PT
3.22 miles
Featherby Junior School
Chilham Road, Featherby Junior School, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6BT
3.22 miles
Borden Church of England Primary School
School Lane, Borden, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 8JS
3.26 miles
Fairview Community Primary School
Drewery Drive, Wigmore, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 0NU
3.33 miles
St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
Deanwood Drive, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 9NP
3.37 miles
Aspire School
Vellum Drive, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 5DA
3.39 miles
Iwade School
School Lane, Iwade, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 8RS
3.39 miles
Name Distance
Leigh Academy Rainham
Otterham Quay Lane, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 8GS
1.49 miles
Rainham Mark Grammar School
Pump Lane, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 7AJ
2.38 miles
The Howard School
Derwent Way, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 0BX
2.63 miles
Rainham School for Girls
Derwent Way, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 0BX
2.66 miles
Westlands School
Westlands Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 1PF
3.53 miles
The Robert Napier School
Third Avenue, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 2LX
3.83 miles
Rivermead School
Forge Lane, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1UG
4.07 miles
Alchemy School
105 Nelson Road, Gillingham, ME7 4LT
4.28 miles
Chatham Grammar
Rainham Road, Chatham, Kent, ME5 7EH
4.38 miles
Borden Grammar School
Avenue of Remembrance, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4DB
4.55 miles
Waterfront UTC
South Side Three Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4FQ
4.6 miles
Hospital and Medical Tuition Service
The School Room, Dolphin Ward, Gillingham, ME7 5NY
4.64 miles
ALP Sittingbourne
60, Bell, Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4HE
4.74 miles
Brompton Academy
Marlborough Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 5HT
4.76 miles
Highsted Grammar School
Highsted Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4PT
4.8 miles
MidKent College
Medway Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1FN
4.81 miles
Fulston Manor School
Brenchley Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4EG
4.82 miles
VTC Independent School
Unit 2, Centre 2000, St Michael's Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 3DZ
4.86 miles

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

Holywell Primary School is part of Ekc Schools Trust Limited, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

What is Holywell Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Holywell Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2017 of its predecessor, Holywell Primary School.

When was Holywell Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Holywell Primary School was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Holywell Primary School have?

Holywell Primary School has 212 pupils on roll.

What age range does Holywell Primary School cover?

Holywell Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Holywell Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Holywell Primary School?

Holywell Primary School is at Forge Lane, Upchurch, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7AE.

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