Thornden Wood Primary School
Greenhill Road, Herne Bay, CT6 7RS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EKC SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kate Espley
- Constituency
- Herne Bay and Sandwich
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 337
- URN
- 147751
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227373095
About this school
Thornden Wood Primary School is a primary academy in Herne Bay. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 337 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thornden Wood 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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 | 60 | 49 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 78% | 81% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 12% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 90% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 65% | 88% | 84% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 86% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 109.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.20 | - | - |
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 Thornden Wood 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 | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 78% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 81% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 295 |
| 2023/24 | 289 |
| 2024/25 | 301 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thornden Wood Primary School compares
Thornden Wood Primary School ranked 49th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 89% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 81% | 6.6% | 42.2% | 337 | — |
| Hampton Primary School | 50% | 7.4% | 30.7% | 679 | 0.5 miles |
| Herne Bay Infant School | — | 6.7% | 41.5% | 259 | 1.3 miles |
| Herne Bay Junior School | 34% | 7.2% | 46.3% | 371 | 1.4 miles |
| Herne Church of England Junior School | 81% | 4.1% | 16.8% | 375 | 1.5 miles |
| Herne Church of England Infant and Nursery School | — | 5.5% | 11.2% | 318 | 1.7 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)
- 42.19%
- English as an additional language
- 9%
- Overall absence
- 6.62%
- Persistent absence
- 19.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hampton Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Herne Bay
-
Herne Bay Infant School1.3 miles
Primary · Herne Bay
-
Herne Bay Junior School1.4 miles
Primary · Herne Bay
-
Herne Church of England Junior School1.5 miles
Primary · Herne Bay
-
Herne Church of England Infant and Nursery School1.7 miles
Primary · Herne Bay
Other schools in Herne Bay
Thornden Wood Primary School ranks 2nd of the 5 ranked primary schools in Herne Bay.
- Hampton Primary School Primary
- Herne Bay Infant School Primary
- Herne Bay Junior School Primary
- Herne Church of England Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Herne Church of England Junior School Primary
- Reculver Church of England Primary School Primary
- Herne Bay High School Secondary
- SALT COLLEGE Other types
Common questions
- What ages does Thornden Wood Primary School teach?
- Thornden Wood Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Herne Bay.
- Who is the headteacher of Thornden Wood Primary School?
- The headteacher of Thornden Wood Primary School is Mrs Kate Espley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thornden Wood Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thornden Wood 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 Thornden Wood Primary School?
- Thornden Wood Primary School has 337 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Thornden Wood Primary School full?
- Thornden Wood Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 337 on roll (80%), 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 Thornden Wood Primary School a faith school?
- No. Thornden Wood Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Thornden Wood Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Thornden Wood Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Thornden Wood Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Thornden Wood Primary School is part of EKC SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Thornden Wood Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 57% in 2022/23 and 81% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thornden Wood Primary School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Thornden Wood Primary School ranked 49th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 89% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thornden Wood Primary School's absence rate?
- Thornden Wood Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thornden Wood Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thornden Wood 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 2 July 2026.