Thistle Hill Academy
Aspen Drive, Minster-on-Sea, Sheerness, ME12 3UD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE STOUR ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Rebecca Handebeaux
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Stour Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Sittingbourne and Sheppey
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 349
- URN
- 140393
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01795899119
About this school
Thistle Hill Academy is a primary academy in Sheerness. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 349 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thistle Hill 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 57 | 59 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 68% | 49% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 5% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 80% | 59% |
| Expected standard in maths | 61% | 71% | 59% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 54% | 73% | 42% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 103.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.00 | - | - |
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 Thistle Hill 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 | 56% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 68% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 49% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 359 |
| 2023/24 | 352 |
| 2024/25 | 332 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thistle Hill Academy compares
Thistle Hill Academy ranked 356th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49% | 7% | 49.1% | 349 | — |
| Minster in Sheppey Primary School | 89% | 5.1% | 26.8% | 572 | 0.6 miles |
| St Georges CofE (Aided) Primary School | 60% | 5.8% | 21.6% | 382 | 0.9 miles |
| Halfway Houses Primary School | 72% | 5.9% | 32% | 498 | 1.1 miles |
| Richmond Primary School | 63% | 7.8% | 75.1% | 246 | 1.9 miles |
| Queenborough School and Nursery | 85% | 5.7% | 37.8% | 470 | 1.9 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)
- 49.1%
- English as an additional language
- 9%
- Overall absence
- 6.98%
- Persistent absence
- 22.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Minster in Sheppey Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Sheerness
-
St Georges CofE (Aided) Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Sheerness
-
Halfway Houses Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Sheerness
-
Richmond Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Sheerness
-
Queenborough School and Nursery1.9 miles
Primary · Queenborough
Other schools in Sheerness
Thistle Hill Academy ranks 7th of the 10 ranked primary schools in Sheerness.
- Eastchurch Church of England Primary School Primary
- Halfway Houses Primary School Primary
- Minster in Sheppey Primary School Primary
- Richmond Primary School Primary
- Rose Street Primary School Primary
- St Edward's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Georges CofE (Aided) Primary School Primary
- St. Clement's CofE Primary School Primary
- West Minster Primary School Primary
- EKC Sheppey Secondary Secondary
- Leigh Academy Minster Secondary
- Curly's Farm and School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Thistle Hill Academy teach?
- Thistle Hill Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Sheerness.
- Who is the headteacher of Thistle Hill Academy?
- The headteacher of Thistle Hill Academy is Ms Rebecca Handebeaux, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thistle Hill Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thistle Hill 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 Thistle Hill Academy?
- Thistle Hill Academy has 349 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Thistle Hill Academy full?
- Thistle Hill Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 349 on roll (83%), 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 Thistle Hill Academy a faith school?
- No. Thistle Hill Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Thistle Hill Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Thistle Hill Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Thistle Hill Academy part of an academy trust?
- Thistle Hill Academy is part of THE STOUR ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Thistle Hill Academy have?
- The schools register lists Thistle Hill Academy's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Thistle Hill Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 49% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thistle Hill Academy compare with other schools in Kent?
- Thistle Hill Academy ranked 356th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thistle Hill Academy's absence rate?
- Thistle Hill Academy's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thistle Hill Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thistle Hill 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.