Holywell Primary School

About Holywell Primary School

Holywell Primary School, a state primary in Swale, Kent, earned a Good rating from Ofsted in its most recent graded inspection in 2013, a judgement confirmed by an ungraded inspection in July 2024. The school’s academic story is best told through its Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 year, where 81% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure sits well above the local authority average of 63%, placing Holywell 4th out of 48 primary schools in Swale and inside the top 10% nationally. The school also shines at the higher standard: 10% of pupils achieved greater depth across all three subjects, while 39% reached that level in reading and 39% in maths. These outcomes suggest a school that consistently pushes beyond the basics, even if writing at the higher standard (13%) remains a relative area for development.

Digging deeper into the exam data, Holywell’s average scaled scores of 107 in maths and 106 in reading are solid, and the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in individual subjects is strong: 90% in maths, 87% in reading and 81% in writing. The school’s Ofsted report from July 2024, an ungraded inspection that confirmed it remains Good, also rated leadership and management as Good. The previous graded inspection in 2013 had already awarded a Good overall effectiveness rating, so the school has held this standard for over a decade. With 206 pupils on roll against a capacity of 210, Holywell is nearly full, and its oversubscription ratio of 2.87 tells you local families are keen: for the 2025/26 intake, 86 applications were received for 30 places, with 28 first-preference offers made from 36 first-preference applications.

Holywell is a non-denominational, mixed primary for ages 5 to 11, with no nursery or sixth form. Its facilities include a library, outdoor playground, gymnasium, sensory room and even a chapel, which is unusual for a school with no religious character. Sports provision covers cricket, swimming, football, gymnastics, dance and cross country, while clubs range from book club and gardening to coding, chess, science club and eco club. The school explicitly supports pupils with a range of special educational needs, including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 14.6% of pupils eligible for free school meals, Holywell serves a mixed catchment and, given its strong academic outcomes and high local demand, is a realistic but competitive choice for families in Swale who want a primary with proven results.

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