Pembury School
Lower Green Road, Pembury, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 4EB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Hannah Walters
- Constituency
- Tunbridge Wells
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 510
- Pupils on roll
- 400
- URN
- 118280
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01892822259
About this school
Pembury School is a community primary school in Tunbridge Wells. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 400 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Pembury School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 October 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 59 | 60 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 65% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 13% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 77% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 66% | 77% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 68% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 106.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.50 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Pembury School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 65% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 404 |
| 2023/24 | 399 |
| 2024/25 | 408 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Pembury School compares
Pembury School ranked 195th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 4.3% | 12% | 400 | — |
| Skinners' Kent Primary School | 59% | 4.1% | 16.2% | 212 | 1.5 miles |
| Skinners' Temple Grove | 39% | 8.8% | 54.8% | 163 | 1.9 miles |
| Capel Primary School | 38% | 5.1% | 23.6% | 209 | 2.2 miles |
| St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 59% | 6.9% | 49% | 293 | 2.4 miles |
| St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 72% | 4.5% | 10.3% | 629 | 2.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 12.01%
- English as an additional language
- 10%
- Overall absence
- 4.26%
- Persistent absence
- 5.54%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Skinners' Kent Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Skinners' Temple Grove1.9 miles
Primary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Capel Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Tonbridge
-
St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Tunbridge Wells
-
St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School2.6 miles
Primary · Tunbridge Wells
Other schools in Tunbridge Wells
Pembury School ranks 14th of the 23 ranked primary schools in Tunbridge Wells.
- Bidborough Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Broadwater Down Primary School Primary
- Claremont Primary School Primary
- Fordcombe Church of England Primary School Primary
- Frant Church of England Primary School Primary
- Groombridge St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lamberhurst St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Langton Green Primary School Primary
- Rusthall St Paul's CofE Primary School Primary
- Skinners' Kent Primary School Primary
- Skinners' Temple Grove Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Pembury School teach?
- Pembury School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Tunbridge Wells.
- Who is the headteacher of Pembury School?
- The headteacher of Pembury School is Mrs Hannah Walters, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Pembury School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Pembury School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Pembury School?
- Pembury School has 400 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Pembury School full?
- Pembury School has capacity for 510 pupils and 400 on roll (78%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Pembury School a faith school?
- No. Pembury School has no designated religious character.
- Does Pembury School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Pembury School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Pembury School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 67% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Pembury School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Pembury School ranked 195th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Pembury School's absence rate?
- Pembury School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Pembury School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Pembury School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.