Blean Primary School
Whitstable Road, Blean, Canterbury, CT2 9ED
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Ian Rowden
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Canterbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 469
- Pupils on roll
- 449
- URN
- 118356
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227471254
About this school
Blean Primary School is a community primary school in Canterbury. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 449 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Blean Primary 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 March 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 | 63 | 62 | 61 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 83% | 71% | 80% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 22% | 16% | 25% |
| Expected standard in reading | 87% | 87% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 94% | 74% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 92% | 77% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 108.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +4.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.40 | - | - |
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 Blean Primary 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 | 83% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 80% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 431 |
| 2023/24 | 430 |
| 2024/25 | 427 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Blean Primary School compares
Blean Primary School ranked 56th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 87% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 80% | 3.9% | 8.9% | 449 | — |
| St Stephen's Junior School | 44% | 6.2% | 31% | 400 | 1.3 miles |
| St Stephen's Infant School | — | 6.9% | 33.1% | 263 | 1.3 miles |
| The Canterbury Primary School | 51% | 7.6% | 43.8% | 421 | 1.5 miles |
| St Johns Church of England Primary School | 38% | 8.7% | 48.7% | 427 | 1.7 miles |
| St Peter's Methodist Primary School | 63% | 6.4% | 28.2% | 208 | 1.7 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)
- 8.9%
- English as an additional language
- 17.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.87%
- Persistent absence
- 5.74%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Stephen's Junior School1.3 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
St Stephen's Infant School1.3 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
The Canterbury Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
St Johns Church of England Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
St Peter's Methodist Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Canterbury
Other schools in Canterbury
Blean Primary School ranks 1st of the 27 ranked primary schools in Canterbury.
- Adisham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School Primary
- Aylesham Primary School Primary
- Barham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bridge and Patrixbourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chartham Primary School Primary
- Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chislet Church of England Primary School Primary
- Elham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Goodnestone Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hoath Primary School Primary
- Littlebourne Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Blean Primary School teach?
- Blean Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Canterbury.
- Who is the headteacher of Blean Primary School?
- The headteacher of Blean Primary School is Mr Ian Rowden, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Blean Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Blean Primary 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 Blean Primary School?
- Blean Primary School has 449 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Blean Primary School full?
- Blean Primary School has capacity for 469 pupils and 449 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Blean Primary School a faith school?
- No. Blean Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Blean Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Blean Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Blean Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 83% in 2022/23 and 80% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Blean Primary School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Blean Primary School ranked 56th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 87% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Blean Primary School's absence rate?
- Blean Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Blean Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Blean Primary 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.