The Downs Church of England Primary School

School overview

The Downs Church of England Primary School is a primary school serving Deal, Kent, classified by the DfE as a converter academy with a Church of England religious character. It has 318 pupils aged 4 to 11 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated The Downs Church of England Primary School 'Good'. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 48% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — below the national average of 61%. That marks an improvement of 10.0 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 in the lower half of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 104 in reading and 103 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). The Downs Church of England Primary School was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 40 families who put it first were offered a place. Overall pupil absence was 7.2%. There are about 15.1 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 38% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. 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.