Preston Primary School
Mill Lane, Preston, Canterbury, CT3 1HB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Executive Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Clements
- Federation
- The Federation of Preston and Wingham
- Constituency
- Herne Bay and Sandwich
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 133
- Pupils on roll
- 129
- URN
- 118401
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227722235
About this school
Preston Primary School is a community primary school in Canterbury. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 129 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Preston 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 21 | 20 | 19 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 76% | 85% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 5% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 95% | 100% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 95% | 84% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 85% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 109.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.90 | - | - |
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 Preston 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 | 76% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 85% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 117 |
| 2023/24 | 119 |
| 2024/25 | 122 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Preston Primary School compares
Preston Primary School ranked 238th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 4.4% | 12.3% | 129 | — |
| Wickhambreaux Church of England Primary School | — | — | — | — | 2.3 miles |
| Wingham Primary School | 77% | 4.5% | 18.8% | 204 | 2.4 miles |
| Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School | 54% | 6.7% | 29.8% | 183 | 2.5 miles |
| Chislet Church of England Primary School | 47% | 6.1% | 28.4% | 104 | 2.7 miles |
| Water Meadows Primary School | 71% | 6.8% | 42.5% | 188 | 3.1 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 12.3%
- English as an additional language
- 4.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.41%
- Persistent absence
- 9.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wickhambreaux Church of England Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
Wingham Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
Chislet Church of England Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
Water Meadows Primary School3.1 miles
Primary · Canterbury
Other schools in Canterbury
Preston Primary School ranks 14th 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
- Blean 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
Common questions
- What ages does Preston Primary School teach?
- Preston Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Canterbury.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Preston Primary School?
- The executive headteacher of Preston Primary School is Mrs Helen Clements, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Preston Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Preston 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 Preston Primary School?
- Preston Primary School has 129 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Preston Primary School full?
- Preston Primary School has capacity for 133 pupils and 129 on roll (97%), 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 Preston Primary School a faith school?
- No. Preston Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Preston Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Preston Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Preston Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Preston Primary School is part of the The Federation of Preston and Wingham federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Preston Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 76% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Preston Primary School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Preston Primary School ranked 238th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Preston Primary School's absence rate?
- Preston Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Preston Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Preston 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.