John Mayne Church of England Primary School
High Street, Biddenden, Ashford, TN27 8AL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- TENTERDEN SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Tester
- Diocese
- Diocese of Canterbury
- Constituency
- Weald of Kent
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 140
- Pupils on roll
- 94
- URN
- 149623
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01580291424
About this school
John Mayne Church of England Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in Ashford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 94 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. 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
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 10 | 11 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 27% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 100% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 27% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 27% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 95.0 |
Trends over time
How John Mayne Church of England 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 | — | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 27% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 102 |
| 2024/25 | 100 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Mayne Church of England Primary School compares
John Mayne Church of England Primary School ranked 420th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 27% | 6.2% | 31% | 94 | — |
| Frittenden Church of England Primary School | 73% | 6.6% | 17.4% | 100 | 2.7 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England Primary School | 52% | 4.9% | 29.9% | 177 | 2.8 miles |
| Smarden Primary School | 89% | 3.4% | 14.9% | 172 | 3.3 miles |
| High Halden Church of England Primary School | 42% | 6.1% | 16.7% | 105 | 3.3 miles |
| Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School | 64% | 5.4% | 24.9% | 194 | 3.7 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)
- 31%
- English as an additional language
- 3%
- Overall absence
- 6.23%
- Persistent absence
- 16.09%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Frittenden Church of England Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Cranbrook
-
St Michael's Church of England Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Tenterden
-
Smarden Primary School3.3 miles
Primary · Ashford
-
High Halden Church of England Primary School3.3 miles
Primary · Ashford
-
Sissinghurst Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School3.7 miles
Primary · Cranbrook
Other schools in Ashford
John Mayne Church of England Primary School ranks 39th of the 39 ranked primary schools in Ashford.
- Aldington Primary School Primary
- Ashford Oaks Community Primary School Primary
- Ashford, St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Beaver Green Primary School Primary
- Bethersden Primary School Primary
- Bodsham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brabourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brook Community Primary School Primary
- Challock Primary School Primary
- Charing Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chilmington Green Primary School Primary
- Downs View Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does John Mayne Church of England Primary School teach?
- John Mayne Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Ashford.
- Who is the headteacher of John Mayne Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of John Mayne Church of England Primary School is Mrs Helen Tester, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was John Mayne Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Mayne Church of England 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 big is John Mayne Church of England Primary School?
- John Mayne Church of England Primary School has 94 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is John Mayne Church of England Primary School full?
- John Mayne Church of England Primary School has capacity for 140 pupils and 94 on roll (67%), 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 John Mayne Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. John Mayne Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Canterbury.
- Does John Mayne Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records John Mayne Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs John Mayne Church of England Primary School?
- John Mayne Church of England Primary School is part of TENTERDEN SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have John Mayne Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 70% in 2023/24 and 27% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Mayne Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- John Mayne Church of England Primary School ranked 420th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Mayne Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- John Mayne Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Mayne Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Mayne Church of England 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.