The Robert Drake Primary School
Church Road, New Thundersley, Benfleet, SS7 3HT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE ROBERT DRAKE PRIMARY SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mrs Penny Coe Mrs Natalie Jackson
- Constituency
- Castle Point
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 313
- URN
- 137246
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01268754124
About this school
The Robert Drake Primary School is a primary academy in Benfleet. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 313 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Robert Drake Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- 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 | 45 | 45 | 46 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 71% | 87% | 85% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 20% | 13% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 89% | 91% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 96% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 96% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.80 | - | - |
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 The Robert Drake 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 | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 71% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 87% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 85% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 315 |
| 2023/24 | 314 |
| 2024/25 | 312 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Robert Drake Primary School compares
The Robert Drake Primary School ranked 28th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 94% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 85% | 4.5% | 13.1% | 313 | — |
| Kingston Primary School | 90% | 5.2% | 9.5% | 210 | 0.4 miles |
| Holy Family Catholic Primary School | 43% | 6.8% | 16.4% | 216 | 0.6 miles |
| Thundersley Primary School | 67% | 4.7% | 11% | 423 | 0.8 miles |
| Kents Hill Junior School | 77% | 5.2% | 18.4% | 343 | 0.8 miles |
| Kents Hill Infant Academy | — | 4.6% | 10.5% | 239 | 0.8 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)
- 13.14%
- English as an additional language
- 3.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.53%
- Persistent absence
- 8.79%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kingston Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Thundersley
-
Holy Family Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Benfleet
-
Thundersley Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Benfleet
-
Kents Hill Junior School0.8 miles
Primary · Benfleet
-
Kents Hill Infant Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Benfleet
Other schools in Benfleet
The Robert Drake Primary School ranks 1st of the 10 ranked primary schools in Benfleet.
- Hadleigh Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Hadleigh Junior School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School Primary
- Jotmans Hall Primary School Primary
- Kents Hill Infant Academy Primary
- Kents Hill Junior School Primary
- Montgomerie Primary School Primary
- South Benfleet Primary School Primary
- Thundersley Primary School Primary
- Westwood Academy Primary
- Woodham Ley Primary School Primary
- The Appleton School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does The Robert Drake Primary School teach?
- The Robert Drake Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Benfleet.
- Who is the headteacher of The Robert Drake Primary School?
- The headteacher of The Robert Drake Primary School is Mrs Penny Coe Mrs Natalie Jackson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Robert Drake Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Robert Drake 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 many pupils are at The Robert Drake Primary School?
- The Robert Drake Primary School has 313 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is The Robert Drake Primary School full?
- The Robert Drake Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 313 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Robert Drake Primary School a faith school?
- No. The Robert Drake Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Robert Drake Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records The Robert Drake Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is The Robert Drake Primary School part of an academy trust?
- The Robert Drake Primary School is part of THE ROBERT DRAKE PRIMARY SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Robert Drake Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 71% in 2022/23 and 85% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Robert Drake Primary School compare with other schools in Essex?
- The Robert Drake Primary School ranked 28th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 94% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Robert Drake Primary School's absence rate?
- The Robert Drake Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Robert Drake Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Robert Drake 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 1 July 2026.