Wateringbury Church of England Primary School
147 Bow Road, Wateringbury, Maidstone, ME18 5EA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Miss Debbie Johnson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Rochester
- Constituency
- Tonbridge
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 134
- URN
- 118632
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01622812199
About this school
Wateringbury Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Maidstone. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 134 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. 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 28 | 31 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 39% | 61% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 6% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 61% | 71% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 46% | 71% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 61% | 62% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.00 | - | - |
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 Wateringbury Church of England 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 | 39% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 61% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 175 |
| 2023/24 | 173 |
| 2024/25 | 151 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Wateringbury Church of England Primary School compares
Wateringbury Church of England Primary School ranked 208th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 6.9% | 25.8% | 134 | — |
| The Discovery School | 80% | 5.4% | 8.4% | 634 | 1.5 miles |
| Yalding, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 56% | 4.9% | 15.2% | 145 | 1.8 miles |
| Kings Hill School Primary and Nursery | 63% | 4.2% | 11.2% | 472 | 1.8 miles |
| Valley Invicta Primary School At Kings Hill | 90% | 4.3% | 12.4% | 226 | 2.0 miles |
| Mereworth Community Primary School | 81% | 3.7% | 16.6% | 209 | 2.2 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)
- 25.83%
- English as an additional language
- 7.3%
- Overall absence
- 6.92%
- Persistent absence
- 21.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Discovery School1.5 miles
Primary · West Malling
-
Yalding, St Peter and St Paul Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Maidstone
-
Kings Hill School Primary and Nursery1.8 miles
Primary · West Malling
-
Valley Invicta Primary School At Kings Hill2.0 miles
Primary · West Malling
-
Mereworth Community Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Maidstone
Other schools in Maidstone
Wateringbury Church of England Primary School ranks 20th of the 43 ranked primary schools in Maidstone.
- Allington Primary School Primary
- Archbishop Courtenay Primary School Primary
- Barming Primary School Primary
- Boughton Monchelsea Primary School Primary
- Brunswick House Primary School Primary
- Coxheath Primary School Primary
- East Farleigh Primary School Primary
- Greenfields Community Primary School Primary
- Harrietsham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hollingbourne Primary School Primary
- Hunton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Jubilee Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Wateringbury Church of England Primary School teach?
- Wateringbury Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Maidstone.
- Who is the headteacher of Wateringbury Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Wateringbury Church of England Primary School is Miss Debbie Johnson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Wateringbury Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Wateringbury Church of England 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 Wateringbury Church of England Primary School?
- Wateringbury Church of England Primary School has 134 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Wateringbury Church of England Primary School full?
- Wateringbury Church of England Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 134 on roll (64%), 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 Wateringbury Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Wateringbury Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Rochester.
- Does Wateringbury Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Wateringbury Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Wateringbury Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 39% in 2022/23 and 66% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Wateringbury Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Wateringbury Church of England Primary School ranked 208th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Wateringbury Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Wateringbury Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Wateringbury Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Wateringbury Church of England 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.