St Peter's Church of England Primary School

About St Peter's Church of England Primary School

St Peter's Church of England Primary School in Tonbridge and Malling holds a Good rating from Ofsted following its most recent inspection in September 2024, with every graded category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — all judged Good. The school's previous inspection in 2015 also rated it Good overall, so it has maintained a consistent standard. The most telling academic metric is the Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard: 53% of pupils achieved this, compared with the Kent local authority average of 63%. That places the school in the bottom half nationally, ranked 34th out of 41 primary schools in Tonbridge and Malling. The picture is mixed when you dig deeper. Reading is a relative strength, with 78% of pupils reaching the expected standard and an average scaled score of 106, while maths sits at 63% expected and an average score of 103. Writing is lower, with 72% at the expected level.

At the higher standard, the gap is more pronounced. Just 13% of pupils achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined, with reading again the strongest subject at 28% reaching the higher threshold. Maths higher attainment was 22%, and writing just 13%. The school does not publish progress scores for any of the three core subjects, so it is not possible to see how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. Parental opinion is overwhelmingly positive, however. In the most recent Parent View survey, 95% of the 41 respondents would recommend the school. Strong agreement was very high on questions about happiness (76%), safety (78%), and the range of clubs and activities (83%). The school is oversubscribed for Reception entry in 2025/26, with 73 applications for 30 places and 29 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.43.

The school has a Church of England religious character and is led by headteacher Jim Holditch. It has a capacity of 210 and currently has 200 pupils on roll, with 17.5% eligible for free school meals. Facilities include playing fields, a library, art studios, a sports hall, music rooms, an ICT suite and a chapel. Sports on offer include football, netball, dance and cross country, and clubs include book club, choir and science club. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and physical disability. For families seeking an Outstanding-rated alternative nearby, Valley Invicta Primary School at Aylesford is 1.3 km away. St Peter's is a solidly Good, well-regarded village primary that is popular locally but whose academic outcomes sit below the Kent average.

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