Smarden Primary School
Primary · Academy converter · Ages 2–11 · Ashford, Kent
Last distance offered · Reception 2026
2.177 miles
Published by Kent County Council · offers on 16 April 2026
2023–2025 trend 🔒
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
Smarden Primary School is a primary school in Ashford, Kent for ages 2–11 (academy converter). Its latest Ofsted outcome is School remains Good, from the inspection on 11 May 2023. Kent has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2023 to 2026 entry.
Smarden Primary School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Reception 2026 | 2.177 mi |
| Reception 2025 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2024 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2023 | 🔒 With a pass |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- In 2024/25, 89% met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (England 62%), the highest of 9 schools: this one and the 8 nearest primary schools in Kent.
- Reception 2026 drew 21 first-choice applications for 15 offers; 15 went to first-choice families, and 6 first-choice families (29%) were not offered a place.
- The last child offered a Reception place in 2026 lived 2.177 miles away, nearer than in 2025; the 2026 figure was the shortest of the 4 published years.
- Free school meal eligibility is 17.4% of pupils, against a middle figure of 29.9% across the 8 nearest primary schools in Kent.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Kent schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Pluckley Road, Smarden, Ashford, TN27 8ND
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 2–11
- Council
- Kent
- Pupils on roll
- 172 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 17.4% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 21.3
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
School remains Good Inspected 11 May 2023
Strengths
- “All at Smarden Primary have the highest aspirations and ambition for all their pupils.”
- “Pupils benefit from this ambition and the thorough approach to everything in school.”
- “They are happy and do well in their academic and wider development.”
To improve
- “Currently, not all learning is planned from the very beginning of school.”
- “In these cases, pupils are not as well prepared for their next steps as they could be.”
- “This is not fully embedded across the whole curriculum.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 19 July 2023 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| Key stage 2 · reading, writing and maths, expected standard (2024/25) | 89% | 62% |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Reception entry: 21 first-preference applications, 15 offers in total, 15 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby primary schools
Straight-line distance, in Kent.
- Bethersden Primary School 3.0 mi Good Last distance published
- Pluckley Church of England Primary School 3.2 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- John Mayne Church of England Primary School 3.3 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Egerton Church of England Primary School 3.3 mi Good Last distance published
- Headcorn Primary School 3.3 mi Not judged Last distance published
- High Halden Church of England Primary School 3.5 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- St Michael's Church of England Primary School 4.3 mi Not judged Last distance published
- Frittenden Church of England Primary School 4.4 mi Not judged Last distance published