Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy
Warren Road, Folkestone, CT19 6QH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- FOLKESTONE ST MARY'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY ACADEMY
- Principal
- Mr Richard Paez
- Diocese
- Diocese of Canterbury
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Folkestone and Hythe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 406
- URN
- 139310
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01303251390
About this school
Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy is a Church of England primary academy in Folkestone. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 406 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 57 | 59 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 40% | 56% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 3% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 61% | 69% | 69% |
| Expected standard in maths | 56% | 61% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 61% | 66% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.60 | - | - |
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 Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England 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 | 40% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 449 |
| 2023/24 | 442 |
| 2024/25 | 416 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy compares
Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy ranked 281st of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 7.4% | 33.8% | 406 | — |
| Martello Primary | 57% | 7.7% | 66.7% | 146 | 0.2 miles |
| Folkestone, St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 60% | 4% | 49.5% | 98 | 0.4 miles |
| Castle Hill Community Primary School | 54% | 9.5% | 60.5% | 395 | 0.5 miles |
| Mundella Primary School | 56% | 8.5% | 60.2% | 184 | 0.7 miles |
| St Eanswythe's Church of England Primary School | 68% | 4.6% | 30.3% | 215 | 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 33.79%
- English as an additional language
- 3.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.37%
- Persistent absence
- 20.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Martello Primary0.2 miles
Primary · Folkestone
-
Folkestone, St Peter's Church of England Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Folkestone
-
Castle Hill Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Folkestone
-
Mundella Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Folkestone
-
St Eanswythe's Church of England Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Folkestone
Other schools in Folkestone
Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy ranks 13th of the 19 ranked primary schools in Folkestone.
- All Soul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Capel-le-Ferne Primary School Primary
- Castle Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Cheriton Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone Primary
- Folkestone Primary Primary
- Folkestone, St Martin's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Folkestone, St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Harcourt Primary School Primary
- Hawkinge Primary School Primary
- Lyminge Church of England Primary School Primary
- Martello Primary Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy teach?
- Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Folkestone.
- Who is the principal of Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy?
- The principal of Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy is Mr Richard Paez, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England 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 many pupils are at Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy?
- Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy has 406 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy full?
- Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 406 on roll (97%), 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 Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Canterbury.
- Does Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy is part of FOLKESTONE ST MARY'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY ACADEMY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 40% in 2022/23 and 59% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy compare with other schools in Kent?
- Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy ranked 281st of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England 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.