St Stephen's Junior School
Hales Drive, St Stephens, Canterbury, CT2 7AD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ST STEPHEN'S ACADEMY CANTERBURY
- Headteacher
- Co Headteacher Laura Cutts Sarah Heaney
- Constituency
- Canterbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 400
- URN
- 136393
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227464119
About this school
St Stephen's Junior School is a primary academy in Canterbury. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 400 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 1 March 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 | 98 | 97 | 99 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 56% | 44% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 5% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 71% | 62% |
| Expected standard in maths | 55% | 64% | 55% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 62% | 65% | 45% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.40 | - | - |
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 St Stephen's Junior 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 | 46% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 44% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 404 |
| 2023/24 | 397 |
| 2024/25 | 407 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Stephen's Junior School compares
St Stephen's Junior School ranked 382nd of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 15% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44% | 6.2% | 31% | 400 | — |
| St Stephen's Infant School | — | 6.9% | 33.1% | 263 | 0.1 miles |
| St Johns Church of England Primary School | 38% | 8.7% | 48.7% | 427 | 0.6 miles |
| St Thomas' Catholic Primary School, Canterbury | 80% | 4% | 18.1% | 210 | 0.8 miles |
| St Peter's Methodist Primary School | 63% | 6.4% | 28.2% | 208 | 0.9 miles |
| Parkside Community Foundation Primary School | 23% | 16.8% | 70.1% | 161 | 1.2 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)
- 30.96%
- English as an additional language
- 32.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.15%
- Persistent absence
- 15.8%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Stephen's Infant School0.1 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
St Johns Church of England Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
St Thomas' Catholic Primary School, Canterbury0.8 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
St Peter's Methodist Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Canterbury
-
Parkside Community Foundation Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Canterbury
Other schools in Canterbury
St Stephen's Junior School ranks 23rd of the 27 ranked primary schools in Canterbury.
- Adisham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School Primary
- Aylesham Primary School Primary
- Barham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blean Primary School Primary
- Bridge and Patrixbourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chartham Primary School Primary
- Chilham, St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chislet Church of England Primary School Primary
- Elham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Goodnestone Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hoath Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Stephen's Junior School teach?
- St Stephen's Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Canterbury.
- Who is the headteacher of St Stephen's Junior School?
- The headteacher of St Stephen's Junior School is Co Headteacher Laura Cutts Sarah Heaney, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Stephen's Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Stephen's Junior 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 St Stephen's Junior School?
- St Stephen's Junior School has 400 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is St Stephen's Junior School full?
- St Stephen's Junior School has capacity for 360 pupils and 400 on roll (111%), 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 St Stephen's Junior School a faith school?
- No. St Stephen's Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does St Stephen's Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Stephen's Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St Stephen's Junior School?
- St Stephen's Junior School is part of ST STEPHEN'S ACADEMY CANTERBURY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Stephen's Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 44% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Stephen's Junior School rank locally?
- St Stephen's Junior School ranked 382nd of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 15% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Stephen's Junior School's absence rate?
- St Stephen's Junior School's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Stephen's Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Stephen's Junior 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 1 July 2026.