Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School
Common Road, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, TN17 2BH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Holman
- Diocese
- Diocese of Canterbury
- Constituency
- Weald of Kent
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 218
- Pupils on roll
- 194
- URN
- 118717
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01580713895
About this school
Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Cranbrook. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 194 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
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
- Good
- 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 | 29 | 23 | 22 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 83% | 70% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 17% | 17% | 23% |
| Expected standard in reading | 90% | 83% | 68% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 70% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 83% | 86% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.40 | - | - |
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 Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided 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 | 83% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 171 |
| 2023/24 | 166 |
| 2024/25 | 173 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School compares
Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School ranked 218th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 5.4% | 24.9% | 194 | — |
| Cranbrook Church of England Primary School | 53% | 5.9% | 38.2% | 200 | 1.2 miles |
| Colliers Green Church of England Primary School | 75% | 4.4% | 7% | 109 | 2.0 miles |
| Frittenden Church of England Primary School | 73% | 6.6% | 17.4% | 100 | 2.5 miles |
| Benenden Church of England Primary School | 82% | 3.8% | 9.5% | 213 | 3.4 miles |
| Staplehurst School | 42% | 6.8% | 23.8% | 398 | 3.5 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)
- 24.86%
- English as an additional language
- 8.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.43%
- Persistent absence
- 17.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cranbrook Church of England Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Cranbrook
-
Colliers Green Church of England Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Cranbrook
-
Frittenden Church of England Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Cranbrook
-
Benenden Church of England Primary School3.4 miles
Primary · Cranbrook
-
Staplehurst School3.5 miles
Primary · Tonbridge
Other schools in Cranbrook
Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School ranks 8th of the 9 ranked primary schools in Cranbrook.
- Benenden Church of England Primary School Primary
- Colliers Green Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cranbrook Church of England Primary School Primary
- Frittenden Church of England Primary School Primary
- Goudhurst and Kilndown Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hawkhurst Church of England Primary School Primary
- Rolvenden Primary School Primary
- Sandhurst Primary School Primary
- Cranbrook School Secondary
- Benenden School Independent schools
- Bethany School Independent schools
- St Ronan's School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School teach?
- Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Cranbrook.
- Who is the headteacher of Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School is Mrs Sarah Holman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided 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 Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School?
- Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School has 194 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School full?
- Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School has capacity for 218 pupils and 194 on roll (89%), 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 Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Canterbury.
- Does Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided 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 83% in 2022/23 and 64% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School ranked 218th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided 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.