The Wells Free School

Free schools·Primary school Tunbridge Wells, Kent·TN4 8FA
Composite score
51.2
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#6,869
National rank
#1037
In South East
#222
In Kent
Top 46%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
68%
% achieving higher RWM
6%
Reading average scaled score
106.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
106.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
93%
28 first choices, 30 places
First choices per place
0.93
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
84
any preference, for 30 places
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.13
00.511.5
1 per place
1.0720221.3020230.8020241.0720250.932026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Kent does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Reception place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for The Wells Free School. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
4–11
Pupils on roll
212
Gender
Mixed

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
18.9%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
49.5%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
13.7%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
2.8%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
5.0%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
13.5%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
18.8
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£6,750
Typical primary: £6,960

“Typical” = the median primary school in England. What this means

Nearby primary schools

Location

School overview

The Wells Free School is a primary school serving Tunbridge Wells, Kent, classified by the DfE as a free school. It has 212 pupils aged 4 to 11 on roll. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 68% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — above the national average of 61%. That marks an improvement of 6.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it around the middle of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 106 in reading and 106 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 6% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). 93% of the families who made The Wells Free School their first choice were offered a Reception place for September 2026, even though the school made at least as many offers as it had first choices - the rest withdrew, moved or fell outside a priority group. Overall pupil absence was 5.0%. There are about 18.8 pupils per teacher. The Wells Free School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. 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.

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