Oakley School
Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 4NE
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 4 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Samantha Perryman
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Tunbridge Wells
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Pupils on roll
- 224
- URN
- 132148
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01892823096
About this school
Oakley School is a community special school in Tunbridge Wells. It teaches children aged 4 to 19 and has 224 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 October 2024, where inspectors found the school has improved significantly. 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 | 16 | 12 | 12 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 89.0 | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | 89.0 | - | - |
| Reading progress | -10.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -9.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -9.30 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 23 | 14 | 19 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Oakley 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 | 0% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 232 |
| 2023/24 | 220 |
| 2024/25 | 224 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 47.8%
- English as an additional language
- 12.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.73%
- Persistent absence
- 29.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Beechwood School0.7 miles
Independent schools · Tunbridge Wells
-
Kent College Pembury1.9 miles
Independent schools · Tunbridge Wells
-
OA Tunbridge Wells1.9 miles
Academies · Royal Tunbridge Wells
-
The Mead School2.2 miles
Independent schools · Tunbridge Wells
-
Rose Hill School2.4 miles
Independent schools · Tunbridge Wells
Other schools in Tunbridge Wells
- Broomhill Bank School Special schools
- Meadows School Special schools
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Oakley School teach?
- Oakley School teaches children aged 4 to 19. It is a special school in Tunbridge Wells.
- Who is the headteacher of Oakley School?
- The headteacher of Oakley School is Mrs Samantha Perryman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Oakley School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Oakley 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 Oakley School?
- Oakley School has 224 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 19.
- Is Oakley School a faith school?
- No. Oakley School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Oakley School have?
- The schools register lists Oakley School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Oakley School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Oakley School's absence rate?
- Oakley School's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Oakley School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Oakley 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.