Swalecliffe Community Primary School
Bridgefield Road, Swalecliffe, Whitstable, CT5 2PH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- The Coastal Alliance Co-operative Trust
- Headteacher
- Mr Ben Cooper
- Constituency
- Canterbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 492
- URN
- 118558
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227272101
About this school
Swalecliffe Community Primary School is a foundation primary school in Whitstable. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 492 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 14 September 2023, 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 | 93 | 84 | 77 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 60% | 52% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 18% | 7% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 72% | 80% | 74% |
| Expected standard in maths | 68% | 65% | 58% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 74% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 107.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 103.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.20 | - | - |
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 Swalecliffe Community 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 | 60% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 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 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 581 |
| 2023/24 | 544 |
| 2024/25 | 500 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Swalecliffe Community Primary School compares
Swalecliffe Community Primary School ranked 336th 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 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52% | 5.8% | 18.4% | 492 | — |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable | 68% | 5.1% | 16.1% | 301 | 0.9 miles |
| Westmeads Community Infant School | — | 4.4% | 24.3% | 183 | 1.3 miles |
| Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School | 73% | 5.6% | 16.9% | 226 | 1.4 miles |
| Whitstable Junior School | 68% | 6.2% | 33% | 202 | 1.5 miles |
| St Alphege Church of England Infant School | — | 5.9% | 18.5% | 206 | 1.5 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)
- 18.4%
- English as an additional language
- 2%
- Overall absence
- 5.81%
- Persistent absence
- 17.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable0.9 miles
Primary · Whitstable
-
Westmeads Community Infant School1.3 miles
Primary · Whitstable
-
Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School1.4 miles
Primary · Whitstable
-
Whitstable Junior School1.5 miles
Primary · Whitstable
-
St Alphege Church of England Infant School1.5 miles
Primary · Whitstable
Other schools in Whitstable
Swalecliffe Community Primary School ranks 5th of the 5 ranked primary schools in Whitstable.
- Joy Lane Primary Foundation School Primary
- St Alphege Church of England Infant School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable Primary
- Westmeads Community Infant School Primary
- Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed Church of England Junior School Primary
- Whitstable Junior School Primary
- The Whitstable School Secondary
- The Far Academy CIC Other types
Common questions
- What year groups does Swalecliffe Community Primary School teach?
- Swalecliffe Community Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Whitstable.
- Who is the headteacher of Swalecliffe Community Primary School?
- The headteacher of Swalecliffe Community Primary School is Mr Ben Cooper, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Swalecliffe Community Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Swalecliffe Community 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 Swalecliffe Community Primary School?
- Swalecliffe Community Primary School has 492 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Swalecliffe Community Primary School full?
- Swalecliffe Community Primary School has capacity for 630 pupils and 492 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 Swalecliffe Community Primary School a faith school?
- No. Swalecliffe Community Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Swalecliffe Community Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Swalecliffe Community Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Swalecliffe Community Primary School?
- Swalecliffe Community Primary School is part of The Coastal Alliance Co-operative Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Swalecliffe Community Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% 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 Swalecliffe Community Primary School rank locally?
- Swalecliffe Community Primary School ranked 336th 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 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Swalecliffe Community Primary School's absence rate?
- Swalecliffe Community Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Swalecliffe Community Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Swalecliffe Community 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.