Herne Church of England Junior School

About Herne Church of England Junior School

Herne Church of England Junior School’s Key Stage 2 results stand out sharply against the Kent local authority average. While the LA average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined is 63%, Herne achieves 88% — a full 25 percentage points higher. This places the school first out of 30 primary schools in the Canterbury district, and within the top 5% nationally. The school is also oversubscribed, with 370 pupils on roll against a capacity of 360, suggesting strong local demand. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2023 confirmed the school remains Outstanding, with leadership and management also graded Outstanding. This marks a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2013, and the school has held an Outstanding grade across both its graded inspection in March 2016 and its subsequent ungraded inspection.

Academically, Herne’s performance is consistently strong across all three core subjects. In reading, 92% of pupils met the expected standard, with 48% reaching the higher standard — well above national norms. Maths follows a similar pattern: 92% at expected and 26% at the higher level, with an average scaled score of 107. Writing sees 92% at expected and 31% at greater depth. The combined higher standard for reading, writing and maths is 16%, which is roughly double the national average for this measure. The school’s ranking score of 88 places it in the top 5% of primary schools in the South East region, and 432nd nationally out of nearly 14,000 schools. These figures reflect a school where most pupils are not just meeting but exceeding expectations, and where progress data, though not published for individual subjects, is implied by the strong outcomes.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a sports hall, gymnasium, ICT suite, library, art studios, music rooms, a chapel, and a Forest School area. Sports provision covers football, rounders, dance, cricket and swimming, while clubs include science, coding, drama and a book club. SEND support is well-developed, with provisions for dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional needs, speech and language challenges, physical disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. With a Church of England character and a headteacher in Mal Saunders, the school suits families who prioritise strong academic outcomes within a structured, faith-linked environment. Its oversubscription and high local ranking suggest it is a first-choice school for many Canterbury families, particularly those seeking a junior school with proven results.

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