St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy

About St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy

Parents at St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy are overwhelmingly positive about their experience, with 95% of respondents saying they would recommend the school to other parents. This comes from the most recent Parent View survey, which collected 92 responses between September 2024 and September 2025. The school is clearly popular locally too: for the 2025/26 academic year, it received 99 applications for just 60 places, an oversubscription ratio of 1.65. Of those, 69 families put it as their first preference, and all 60 first-preference applicants were offered a place. Parents report high levels of satisfaction across the board: 97% strongly agree or agree that their child is happy, and 96% feel their child is safe. The school also scores well on communication, with 96% of parents agreeing the school lets them know what their child will learn, and 89% saying they are kept informed about how their child is doing.

Academically, St Nicholas is a Good school, a rating it received in its most recent graded inspection in 2019, and an ungraded inspection in October 2024 confirmed that standards are being maintained. This is a significant improvement from its previous inspection in 2015, when it was rated Inadequate. At Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 50% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is below the local authority average of 63%. However, individual subject scores are stronger: 77% reached the expected standard in reading and 77% in writing, while 63% did so in maths. Average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 102 in maths. The school ranks 27th out of 35 primary schools in the Folkestone and Hythe local authority area on the combined expected standard measure, placing it in the bottom half nationally.

The school has a Church of England character and is led by headteacher Christopher Dale. It serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage, with 38.9% of pupils eligible for free school meals. Facilities include a sports hall, playing fields, an ICT suite, music rooms, art studios, a sensory room and a chapel. The school offers a range of clubs including drama, choir, chess, coding and art club, and sports such as cricket, football, swimming, dance and rounders. Its SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and a resourced provision. This is a school that has turned around significantly from its previous inadequate rating and now provides a stable, well-regarded environment, particularly suited to families looking for a Church of England primary with strong pastoral support and a wide range of activities.

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