St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolThe Wells Free School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Tunbridge Wells.
Summary of the comparison
St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School and The Wells Free School are primary schools in Tunbridge Wells.
St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School scores 67 out of 100 (grade C, average) and The Wells Free School scores 57 out of 100 (grade C, average). St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is ahead on our composite score.
St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School was judged Good and The Wells Free School was judged Good.
On the share of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2, the latest published figures are 72.0% for St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School and 68.0% for The Wells Free School.
The share of pupils meeting the expected standard at Key Stage 2 has fallen at St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School (75.0% in 2022-23, 72.0% in 2024-25) and has fallen at The Wells Free School (71.0% in 2022-23, 68.0% in 2024-25).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | Tunbridge WellsSt James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | Tunbridge WellsThe Wells Free School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | C67/100Stronger figure | C57/100 | |
| Local ranking | 99th of 450 in Kent Stronger figure | 210th of 450 in Kent | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Good | Ofsted: Good | |
| School type | Voluntary aided school | Free schools | |
| Phase | Primary | Primary | |
| Age range | 4-11 | 4-11 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 632 | 212 | |
| Capacity | 630 | 210 | |
| Location | Tunbridge Wells, TN2 3PR | Tunbridge Wells, TN4 8FA | |
| Key Stage 2 (SATs) | |||
| Reading, writing & maths at expected standard | 72.0% Stronger figure | 68.0% | 62.0% |
| At higher standard | 10.0% Stronger figure | 6.0% | 8.0% |
| Reading average scaled score | 109.0 Stronger figure | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Maths average scaled score | 106.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 632 | 212 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 10.3% | 18.9% | |
| English as an additional language | 35.9% | 49.5% | |
| SEN support | 9.3% | 13.7% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 1.7% | 2.8% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 4.5% | 4.3% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 8.5% | 7.0% Stronger figure | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
KS2: expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
The Wells Free School
Full profiles: St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School · The Wells Free School