Drapers Mills Primary Academy
St Peter's Footpath, Margate, CT9 2SP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Hannah Taylor
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Kemnal Academies Trust
- Constituency
- East Thanet
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 246
- URN
- 139021
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01843223989
About this school
Drapers Mills Primary Academy is a primary academy in Margate. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 246 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 1 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good, but had some concerns; a full inspection will follow. 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 | 54 | 41 | 35 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 21% | 18% | 51% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 0% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 37% | 34% | 57% |
| Expected standard in maths | 30% | 20% | 51% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 15% | 27% | 49% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 97.0 | 96.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 95.0 | 94.0 | 98.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.60 | - | - |
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 Drapers Mills Primary Academy 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 | 21% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 18% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 51% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 330 |
| 2023/24 | 269 |
| 2024/25 | 277 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Drapers Mills Primary Academy compares
Drapers Mills Primary Academy ranked 343rd of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51% | 12.7% | 70.8% | 246 | — |
| Salmestone Primary School | 66% | 9.9% | 51.9% | 216 | 0.5 miles |
| Margate, Holy Trinity and St John's Church of England Primary School | 31% | 7.5% | 59.7% | 397 | 0.6 miles |
| Northdown Primary School | 52% | 10.8% | 77.7% | 302 | 0.6 miles |
| St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate | 75% | 7.3% | 34.7% | 284 | 0.7 miles |
| Cliftonville Primary School | 44% | 6.6% | 51.7% | 845 | 0.7 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)
- 70.76%
- English as an additional language
- 40.8%
- Overall absence
- 12.65%
- Persistent absence
- 48.53%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Salmestone Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Margate
-
Margate, Holy Trinity and St John's Church of England Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Margate
-
Northdown Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Margate
-
St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate0.7 miles
Primary · Margate
-
Cliftonville Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Margate
Other schools in Margate
Drapers Mills Primary Academy ranks 6th of the 8 ranked primary schools in Margate.
- Cliftonville Primary School Primary
- Garlinge Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Margate, Holy Trinity and St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Northdown Primary School Primary
- Palm Bay Primary School Primary
- Salmestone Primary School Primary
- St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate Primary
- Hartsdown Academy Secondary
- Enterprise Learning Alliance Local authority maintained schools
- Liberty College Other types
- Life Skills Enterprise Special schools
- St Anthony's School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Drapers Mills Primary Academy teach?
- Drapers Mills Primary Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Margate.
- Who is the headteacher of Drapers Mills Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Drapers Mills Primary Academy is Mrs Hannah Taylor, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Drapers Mills Primary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Drapers Mills Primary Academy, 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 Drapers Mills Primary Academy?
- Drapers Mills Primary Academy has 246 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Drapers Mills Primary Academy full?
- Drapers Mills Primary Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 246 on roll (59%), 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 Drapers Mills Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Drapers Mills Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Drapers Mills Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Drapers Mills Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Drapers Mills Primary Academy?
- Drapers Mills Primary Academy is part of THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Drapers Mills Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 21% in 2022/23 and 51% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Drapers Mills Primary Academy rank locally?
- Drapers Mills Primary Academy ranked 343rd of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Drapers Mills Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Drapers Mills Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 12.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Drapers Mills Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Drapers Mills Primary Academy'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.