St John's Meads Church of England Primary School

About St John's Meads Church of England Primary School

St John's Meads Church of England Primary School in Eastbourne received a Requires Improvement rating in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024, a downgrade from the Good rating it held in its previous inspection in 2011. The inspection report highlighted that the quality of education and leadership and management both require improvement, while behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision were all rated Good. On the most informative exam metric available, the school's Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show that 53% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. This is below the East Sussex local authority average of 59% for the same measure. Within the local area of Eastbourne, the school ranks 6th out of 10 primary schools on this metric, placing it in the bottom half of its immediate peers.

Looking more closely at the individual subject scores, the school's strongest area at Key Stage 2 is writing, where 75% of pupils reached the expected standard, followed by reading at 72% and maths at 53%. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard in all three subjects combined was just 6%, which is notably low. Average scaled scores were 104 in reading and 101 in maths, both slightly above the national average of 100. Nationally, the school sits in the 72nd percentile for its combined expected standard score, meaning it outperforms roughly a quarter of primary schools across the country but is firmly in the bottom half when compared with other schools in the South East region. The school has no progress scores published for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to see how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points.

The school is a Church of England primary with 182 pupils on roll, operating below its capacity of 218. It was oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, receiving 27 applications for 16 places, with 12 first-preference offers made. Facilities include a sports hall, gymnasium, music rooms, art studios, a sensory room, playing fields and a chapel. The school offers a range of clubs including book club, art club and coding, and sports such as tennis, gymnastics, rounders, dance and athletics. SEND provision covers a broad spectrum including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language communication needs, and social, emotional and mental health support. This is a small, faith-based primary that may suit families who prioritise a supportive SEND offer and a range of facilities, but who are comfortable with academic outcomes that sit below the local average.

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