St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School at a glance

Located in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a primary school, classified by the DfE as a voluntary aided school with a Church of England religious character. The school educates roughly 632 pupils aged 4 to 11. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. 72% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, above the national average (national figure: 61%). Performance is little changed year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 30% of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 109 in reading and 106 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 10% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is oversubscribed: about 9 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Reception place for September 2026, with 95 first choices for 88 places. Overall pupil absence was 4.1%. There are about 22.1 pupils per teacher. Its intake is relatively advantaged, with around 10% of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years versus about 24% nationally. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.