SCHOOL PROFILE

St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Primary Voluntary controlled school URN 118709
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 69.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

26 March 2024
Latest published outcome Requires improvement
OEIF
Quality of education Requires improvement
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Requires improvement
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary controlled school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Kent
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 293 293 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 135 46.1% of pupils
Male pupils 158 53.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

53.9%
29.1 pts above England
School 53.9%
Tunbridge Wells 12.9%
South East 19.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

19.8%
0.5 pts below England
School 19.8%
Tunbridge Wells 11.9%
South East 15.6%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

7.8%
6.8 pts above England
School 7.8%
Tunbridge Wells 1.9%
South East 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
63.8%
187
Indian
8.2%
24
African
7.8%
23
Any other Mixed background
3.4%
10
Any other White background
3.4%
10
Bangladeshi
3.4%
10
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 17.1% 50 of 293 pupils
3.8 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 17.1%
Tunbridge Wells 16.9%
South East 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 15.0% 44 pupils
England 14.8% 0.2 pts above
EHC plans 2.1% 6 pupils
England 6.0% 4.0 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 24
Moderate learning difficulty 10
Social, emotional & mental health 8
No specialist assessment yet 4
Other difficulty or disability 2
Autistic spectrum disorder 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

59.0% 1.4 pts below England
School 59.0%
Tunbridge Wells 66.1%
South East 60.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

71.0%

2.8 pts below England

School 71.0%
Tunbridge Wells 78.5%
South East 74.0%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

73.0%

2.7 pts above England

School 73.0%
Tunbridge Wells 76.6%
South East 70.5%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

63.0%

9.0 pts below England

School 63.0%
Tunbridge Wells 75.7%
South East 70.9%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

6.94%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.72 pts higher than England
School 6.94%
Tunbridge Wells 5.96%
South East 6.30%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

20.70%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.88 pts higher than England
School 20.70%
Tunbridge Wells 15.04%
South East 15.75%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

1.59%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.21 pts lower than England
School 1.59%
Tunbridge Wells 1.79%
South East 1.93%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

69.8% 18.4 pts below England
St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
69.8%
Tunbridge Wells
92.8%
South East
89.5%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information