Mersham Primary School
Church Road, Mersham, Ashford, TN25 6NU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CARE Foundation Trust
- Headteacher
- Mrs Cheryl Chalkley
- Constituency
- Ashford
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 140
- URN
- 118377
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01233720449
About this school
Mersham Primary School is a foundation primary school in Ashford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 140 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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 23 February 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 26 | 31 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 35% | 52% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 23% | 10% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 68% | 69% |
| Expected standard in maths | 58% | 35% | 62% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 62% | 65% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 99.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.90 | - | - |
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 Mersham 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 | 50% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 35% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 52% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 181 |
| 2023/24 | 178 |
| 2024/25 | 171 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Mersham Primary School compares
Mersham Primary School ranked 334th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52% | 4.7% | 24.6% | 140 | — |
| Smeeth Community Primary School | 62% | 5.3% | 15.9% | 120 | 1.7 miles |
| Finberry Primary School | 76% | 5.5% | 22.6% | 418 | 1.8 miles |
| Aldington Primary School | 58% | 5.3% | 11.1% | 198 | 1.9 miles |
| Willesborough Junior School | 73% | 5.3% | 25.4% | 478 | 1.9 miles |
| Willesborough Infant School | — | 5.1% | 13.6% | 333 | 2.0 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)
- 24.56%
- English as an additional language
- 11.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.69%
- Persistent absence
- 8.97%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Smeeth Community Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Ashford
-
Finberry Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Ashford
-
Aldington Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Ashford
-
Willesborough Junior School1.9 miles
Primary · Ashford
-
Willesborough Infant School2.0 miles
Primary · Ashford
Other schools in Ashford
Mersham Primary School ranks 28th of the 39 ranked primary schools in Ashford.
- Aldington Primary School Primary
- Ashford Oaks Community Primary School Primary
- Ashford, St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Beaver Green Primary School Primary
- Bethersden Primary School Primary
- Bodsham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brabourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brook Community Primary School Primary
- Challock Primary School Primary
- Charing Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chilmington Green Primary School Primary
- Downs View Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Mersham Primary School teach?
- Mersham Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Ashford.
- Who is the headteacher of Mersham Primary School?
- The headteacher of Mersham Primary School is Mrs Cheryl Chalkley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Mersham Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Mersham 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 big is Mersham Primary School?
- Mersham Primary School has 140 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Mersham Primary School full?
- Mersham Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 140 on roll (67%), 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 Mersham Primary School a faith school?
- No. Mersham Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Mersham Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Mersham Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Mersham Primary School?
- Mersham Primary School is part of CARE Foundation Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Mersham Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 52% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Mersham Primary School rank locally?
- Mersham Primary School ranked 334th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Mersham Primary School's absence rate?
- Mersham Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Mersham Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Mersham 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.