Swingate Primary School

About Swingate Primary School

Swingate Primary School is clearly a popular choice among local families, with 174 applications for 90 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.93. That means nearly two families applied for every available spot, and the school made 90 offers to first-preference applicants from a total of 101 who put it top of their list. While the Department for Education no longer publishes a formal parent-view survey for this school, the high demand speaks for itself: parents are actively choosing Swingate over other Medway primaries. The school is led by headteacher Mary Clarke and educates 654 pupils aged 3 to 11, slightly above its official capacity of 630. Just 11.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is below the national average, and the school has no religious character.

Academically, Swingate is a standout performer in Medway. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 87% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well above the local authority average of 62%. That result places the school first in Medway out of 55 primaries, and in the top 5% nationally. The school also excels at the higher standard: 9% of pupils achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects, while 69% hit the higher mark in maths and 63% in reading. Average scaled scores were 112 in maths and 111 in reading, both comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. Ofsted last inspected the school in a graded visit in 2014, rating it Good overall with Good leadership and management and Good early years provision. A more recent ungraded inspection in May 2024 confirmed the school remains Good and is improving.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a sensory room, art studios, music rooms, an ICT suite, a sports hall and playing fields, plus a chapel. Clubs include film, chess, choir, eco club, drama and coding, while sports on offer are gymnastics, dance, football, cricket and rounders. Swingate has a nursery provision for three-year-olds and a well-developed SEND department, supporting pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder, social and emotional mental health needs, and multi-sensory impairment. For families seeking a high-performing primary with strong academic results and a wide extracurricular offer, Swingate is a compelling option, though its oversubscription means an early application is essential. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Lordswood School, about a kilometre away.

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