Holywell Primary School
Forge Lane, Upchurch, Sittingbourne, ME9 7AE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EKC SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicky Murrell
- Constituency
- Sittingbourne and Sheppey
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 212
- URN
- 147752
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01634388416
About this school
Holywell Primary School is a primary academy in Sittingbourne. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 212 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Holywell 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. 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 4 July 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 | 29 | 31 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 69% | 81% | 84% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 10% | 19% |
| Expected standard in reading | 86% | 87% | 94% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 90% | 94% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 84% | 90% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.90 | - | - |
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 Holywell 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 | 69% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 81% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 84% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 196 |
| 2023/24 | 202 |
| 2024/25 | 206 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holywell Primary School compares
Holywell Primary School ranked 30th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 84% | 3.4% | 14.6% | 212 | — |
| Lower Halstow Primary School | 33% | 6.6% | 16.8% | 200 | 1.0 miles |
| Riverside Primary School | 56% | 4.5% | 37.3% | 453 | 1.5 miles |
| Newington Church of England Primary School | 73% | 7.4% | 36.7% | 242 | 1.6 miles |
| Hartlip Endowed Church of England Primary School | 53% | 3.8% | 19.8% | 104 | 2.0 miles |
| St Margaret's Infant School | — | 4.6% | 16.4% | 312 | 2.2 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)
- 14.56%
- English as an additional language
- 7.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.42%
- Persistent absence
- 6.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lower Halstow Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Sittingbourne
-
Riverside Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Gillingham
-
Newington Church of England Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Sittingbourne
-
Hartlip Endowed Church of England Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Sittingbourne
-
St Margaret's Infant School2.2 miles
Primary · Gillingham
Other schools in Sittingbourne
Holywell Primary School ranks 2nd of the 23 ranked primary schools in Sittingbourne.
- Bapchild and Tonge Church of England Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Bobbing Village School Primary
- Borden Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bredgar Church of England Primary School Primary
- Canterbury Road Primary School Primary
- Grove Park Primary School Primary
- Hartlip Endowed Church of England Primary School Primary
- Iwade School Primary
- Kemsley Primary Academy Primary
- Lansdowne Primary School Primary
- Lower Halstow Primary School Primary
- Lynsted and Norton Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Holywell Primary School teach?
- Holywell Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Sittingbourne.
- Who is the headteacher of Holywell Primary School?
- The headteacher of Holywell Primary School is Mrs Nicky Murrell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Holywell Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holywell 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 Holywell Primary School?
- Holywell Primary School has 212 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Holywell Primary School full?
- Holywell Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 212 on roll (101%), so it is at or above 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 Holywell Primary School a faith school?
- No. Holywell Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Holywell Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Holywell Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Holywell Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Holywell 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 Holywell Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 69% in 2022/23 and 84% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holywell Primary School compare with other schools in Kent?
- Holywell Primary School ranked 30th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holywell Primary School's absence rate?
- Holywell Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holywell Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holywell 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 10 July 2026.