School Chooser

Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademyChurch of England411 pupils Free breakfast clubFolkestoneKent
School Chooser Score
65
Above
similar schools
Likely range 46 to 80, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 57% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, November 2022
Reached the expected level at 1176%England 63%
Attendance93.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families47%Far more than most schools
Places9 spare411 pupils, 420 places
Pupils per teacher19.4School workforce census

Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone is a converter academy in Folkestone for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 411 pupils and room for 420. About 47 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 65 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 57% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.

Brockman Road, Folkestone, CT20 1DJ01303 253645christchurchfolkestone.comMr Robin Flack headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 30 November 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

58 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1176%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 79%79%20172018: 84%84%20182019: 89%89%20192023: 72%72%20232024: 78%78%20242025: 76%76%2025
Since 2017: -3%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017KentEngland
Pupils tested586060635653
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths76%78%72%89%84%79%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%2%12%14%21%9%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0107.0108.0109.0110.0107.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0107.0106.0106.0108.0106.0104.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score105.0104.0107.0111.0109.0107.0104.3105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard84%80%85%97%93%85%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard83%83%87%92%91%87%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)81%83%83%95%86%89%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.3+3.9+7.7+4.9
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.3+2.0+5.8+4.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged69%69%58%76%74%81%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged86%92%86%97%96%77%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 3 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
69%86%
Gap 17 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
79%72%
Gap 7 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
75%76%
Gap 1 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
3%7%
Gap 4 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Nearly full417 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
99% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Kent council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll411Census January 2026
Places42098% full
Pupils from low-income families47%47% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English29%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support20%81 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%11 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.414 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils14%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)47%£296,050 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls197 / 214
White British pupils59%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 28.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 26.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (24), emotional and mental health (23), Moderate learning difficulty (19), Autistic spectrum disorder (18), Specific learning difficulty (3), Hearing impairment (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll411414426422416421
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals47%50%49%47%46%42%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language29%24%22%24%19%20%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support18%32%16%16%14%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%2%3%2%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school19.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.72024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.2%7.6%8.1%7.4%4.5%6.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.9%5.1%5.9%5.5%2.7%4.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.3%2.5%2.2%1.9%1.8%2.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence19.7%25.3%26.3%25.9%14.4%20.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.75.93.30.01.2
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers21.2full-time equivalent, 22 people
Pupils per teacher19.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants21.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,913
Teachers who left in the year9%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher9.22024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,954England £7,128. Total £2.9m
Income per pupil£7,386England £7,587. Total £3.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,425England £3,405
Money in reserve40%A lot put by: £1.2m, £2,983 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£179kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,954spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1,81212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate326 per 1,000 people258% higher than the England average
Typical house price£315,000Folkestone and Hythe
Nearest bus stop170 mConnaught Road, 28 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Stella Maris Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy580 m204Good 202341Compare
St Eanswythe's Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy610 m215Not inspected57Compare
Mundella Primary SchoolAcademy700 m184Good 202410Compare
Folkestone, St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England870 m98Not inspected27Compare
Castle Hill Community Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles395Good 202416Compare
Folkestone PrimaryAcademy0.8 miles460Good 202359Compare
Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy0.9 miles406Report card 20258Compare
Martello PrimaryAcademy1.0 miles146Good 202224Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone with the 47 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats57%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 65 is 9 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 56 · highest 100100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 65 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 65% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 46 to 80. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%above
+0.10
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 58 pupils
Ofsted inspection18% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.8 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
+0.06
DfE progress measure; 58 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.05
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.08
2024/25; 376 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.14
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 58 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone scores 65 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 57% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 46 to 80, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone good at its last full inspection on 30 November 2022.

How good are Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 76% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone have?

411 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 98% full.

Is Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone?

Pupils were in school 93.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 20% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone?

The average class had 27.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 14% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Brockman Road, Folkestone, CT20 1DJ
Telephone
01303 253645
Website
www.christchurchfolkestone.com
Headteacher
Mr Robin Flack
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Canterbury
Single-academy trust
Christ Church Church of England Primary Academy, Folkestone (1 schools)
Local authority
Kent
Ward
Folkestone Central
Constituency
Folkestone and Hythe
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 March 2013 (academy converter)
URN
139309 · LAESTAB 8863148 · UKPRN 10040025
Formerly
Folkestone Christ Church CofE Primary School

Where these figures come from