St Martin's School
Markland Road, Dover, CT17 9LY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WHINLESS DOWN ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Thompson
- Constituency
- Dover and Deal
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 183
- URN
- 143075
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01304206620
About this school
St Martin's School is a primary academy in Dover. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 183 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 February 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 25 | 24 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 64% | 54% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 4% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 71% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 68% | 63% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 71% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.60 | - | - |
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 St Martin's 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 | 64% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 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 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 194 |
| 2023/24 | 194 |
| 2024/25 | 186 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Martin's School compares
St Martin's School ranked 153rd of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 3.9% | 23.1% | 183 | — |
| Vale View Community School | 60% | 6.7% | 67.4% | 222 | 0.3 miles |
| Priory Fields School | 53% | 8.3% | 65.7% | 319 | 0.5 miles |
| White Cliffs Primary and Nursery School | 57% | 8.1% | 71.6% | 277 | 0.6 miles |
| Aycliffe Community Primary School | 46% | 7.1% | 64.4% | 82 | 0.8 miles |
| Barton Junior School | 66% | 6.5% | 51.9% | 202 | 1.0 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)
- 23.12%
- English as an additional language
- 2.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.88%
- Persistent absence
- 6.02%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Vale View Community School0.3 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Priory Fields School0.5 miles
Primary · Dover
-
White Cliffs Primary and Nursery School0.6 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Aycliffe Community Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Barton Junior School1.0 miles
Primary · Dover
Other schools in Dover
St Martin's School ranks 5th of the 20 ranked primary schools in Dover.
- Aycliffe Community Primary School Primary
- Barton Junior School Primary
- Charlton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Dover, St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School Primary
- Green Park Community Primary School Primary
- Guston Church of England Primary School Primary
- Langdon Primary School Primary
- Lydden Primary School Primary
- Nonington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Priory Fields School Primary
- River Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Martin's School teach?
- St Martin's School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Dover.
- Who is the headteacher of St Martin's School?
- The headteacher of St Martin's School is Mrs Helen Thompson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Martin's School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Martin's 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 St Martin's School?
- St Martin's School has 183 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Martin's School full?
- St Martin's School has capacity for 210 pupils and 183 on roll (87%), 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 St Martin's School a faith school?
- No. St Martin's School has no designated religious character.
- Does St Martin's School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Martin's School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St Martin's School?
- St Martin's School is part of WHINLESS DOWN ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Martin's School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 64% in 2022/23 and 70% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Martin's School rank locally?
- St Martin's School ranked 153rd of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Martin's School's absence rate?
- St Martin's School's overall absence rate is 3.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Martin's School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Martin's 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 2 July 2026.