Amherst School
Witches Lane, Riverhead, Sevenoaks, TN13 2AX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- AMHERST SCHOOL (ACADEMY) TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Reid
- Constituency
- Sevenoaks
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 384
- Pupils on roll
- 385
- URN
- 136499
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01732452577
About this school
Amherst School is a primary academy in Sevenoaks. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 385 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- 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 | 96 | 96 | 96 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 81% | 80% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 20% | 25% | 22% |
| Expected standard in reading | 90% | 88% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 89% | 85% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 82% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 108.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.20 | - | - |
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 Amherst 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 | 81% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 80% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 379 |
| 2023/24 | 378 |
| 2024/25 | 376 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Amherst School compares
Amherst School ranked 70th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 3.3% | 8.5% | 385 | — |
| Riverhead Infants' School | — | 4.7% | 3.4% | 264 | 0.3 miles |
| Chevening, St Botolph's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 76% | 4.4% | 6.2% | 196 | 0.8 miles |
| Dunton Green Primary School | 43% | 6.2% | 34.3% | 160 | 1.0 miles |
| Sevenoaks Primary School | 65% | 4.3% | 15.3% | 547 | 1.1 miles |
| St Thomas' Catholic Primary School, Sevenoaks | 89% | 4.1% | 11.8% | 213 | 1.3 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)
- 8.51%
- English as an additional language
- 9.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.33%
- Persistent absence
- 3.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Riverhead Infants' School0.3 miles
Primary · Riverhead
-
Chevening, St Botolph's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Sevenoaks
-
Dunton Green Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Sevenoaks
-
Sevenoaks Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Sevenoaks
-
St Thomas' Catholic Primary School, Sevenoaks1.3 miles
Primary · Sevenoaks
Other schools in Sevenoaks
Amherst School ranks 7th of the 21 ranked primary schools in Sevenoaks.
- Borough Green Primary School Primary
- Chevening, St Botolph's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Dunton Green Primary School Primary
- Halstead Community Primary School Primary
- Ide Hill Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ightham Primary School Primary
- Kemsing Primary School Primary
- Lady Boswell's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Sevenoaks Primary
- Otford Primary School Primary
- Platt Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Plaxtol Primary School Primary
- Seal Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Amherst School teach?
- Amherst School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Sevenoaks.
- Who is the headteacher of Amherst School?
- The headteacher of Amherst School is Mr Andrew Reid, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Amherst School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Amherst 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 Amherst School?
- Amherst School has 385 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Amherst School full?
- Amherst School has capacity for 384 pupils and 385 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 Amherst School a faith school?
- No. Amherst School has no designated religious character.
- Does Amherst School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Amherst School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Amherst School?
- Amherst School is part of AMHERST SCHOOL (ACADEMY) TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Amherst School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 81% in 2022/23 and 78% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Amherst School rank locally?
- Amherst School ranked 70th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Amherst School's absence rate?
- Amherst School's overall absence rate is 3.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Amherst School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Amherst 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.