Southborough CofE Primary School
Broomhill Park Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 0JY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Emma Savage
- Diocese
- Diocese of Rochester
- Constituency
- Tunbridge Wells
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 631
- URN
- 118712
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01892529682
About this school
Southborough CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Tunbridge Wells. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 631 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 March 2024, 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 | 92 | 90 | 90 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 80% | 72% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 16% | 14% | 19% |
| Expected standard in reading | 86% | 87% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 85% | 80% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 86% | 86% | 86% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.30 | - | - |
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 Southborough CofE 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 | 80% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 72% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 615 |
| 2023/24 | 614 |
| 2024/25 | 621 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Southborough CofE Primary School compares
Southborough CofE Primary School ranked 115th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73% | 5.3% | 15.5% | 631 | — |
| St Augustine's Catholic Primary School | 56% | 4.7% | 20.1% | 241 | 0.7 miles |
| St John's Church of England Primary School | 70% | 3.6% | 10.6% | 633 | 0.8 miles |
| St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 59% | 6.9% | 49% | 293 | 0.8 miles |
| Bidborough Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 79% | 3.7% | 5.1% | 200 | 1.0 miles |
| Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School | 67% | 4.8% | 17% | 194 | 1.1 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.46%
- English as an additional language
- 18.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.26%
- Persistent absence
- 10.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Augustine's Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Tunbridge Wells
-
St John's Church of England Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Tunbridge Wells
-
St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Bidborough Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School1.1 miles
Primary · Tunbridge Wells
Other schools in Tunbridge Wells
Southborough CofE Primary School ranks 7th of the 23 ranked primary schools in Tunbridge Wells.
- Bidborough Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Broadwater Down Primary School Primary
- Claremont Primary School Primary
- Fordcombe Church of England Primary School Primary
- Frant Church of England Primary School Primary
- Groombridge St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lamberhurst St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Langton Green Primary School Primary
- Pembury School Primary
- Rusthall St Paul's CofE Primary School Primary
- Skinners' Kent Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Southborough CofE Primary School teach?
- Southborough CofE Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Tunbridge Wells.
- Who is the headteacher of Southborough CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of Southborough CofE Primary School is Mrs Emma Savage, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Southborough CofE Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Southborough CofE 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 Southborough CofE Primary School?
- Southborough CofE Primary School has 631 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Southborough CofE Primary School full?
- Southborough CofE Primary School has capacity for 630 pupils and 631 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Southborough CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Southborough CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Rochester.
- Does Southborough CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Southborough CofE Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Southborough CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 80% in 2022/23 and 73% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Southborough CofE Primary School rank locally?
- Southborough CofE Primary School ranked 115th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Southborough CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- Southborough CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Southborough CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Southborough CofE 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.