School Chooser

Fairview Community Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil670 pupilsNurseryGillinghamMedway
School Chooser Score
81
Above
similar schools
Likely range 68 to 89
Out of 100. Better than 40% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
Reached the expected level at 1173%England 63%
Attendance96.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families6%Far fewer than most schools
Places20 spare670 pupils, 690 places
Pupils per teacher23.6School workforce census
Pupils on roll670Census January 2026

Fairview Community Primary School is a council school in Gillingham for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 670 pupils and room for 690. About 6 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 81 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 40% of the 50 schools most like it.

Drewery Drive, Wigmore, Gillingham, ME8 0NU01634 338710fairviewprimary.co.ukMrs Karin Tillett head teacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1173%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level11%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score107.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 64%64%20172018: 68%68%20182019: 67%67%20192023: 68%68%20232024: 69%69%20242025: 73%73%2025
Since 2017: +9%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017MedwayEngland
Pupils tested908790927983
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths73%69%68%67%68%64%62%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths11%7%11%8%6%13%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score107.0105.0106.0105.0108.0106.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0105.0105.0104.0105.0104.0103.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score105.0105.0106.0107.0108.0107.0103.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard83%79%78%75%89%75%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard83%78%79%79%78%80%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)88%85%79%87%75%76%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.1+0.3+2.2+0.0
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.0-0.4+0.5-0.8
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged43%33%25%71%30%42%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged76%75%72%67%74%68%

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. 1 of the 3 gaps is 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
43%76%
Gap 33 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
71%76%
Gap 5 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%11%
Gap 11 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.

Nearly full627 pupils for 630 places, 2024/25
100% 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 Medway 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 roll670Census January 2026
Places69097% full
Pupils from low-income families5%6% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English4%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support12%79 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%15 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.821 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)5%£49,600 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls351 / 319
White British pupils86%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.8 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.8 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (27), Other difficulty or disability (21), emotional and mental health (20), Moderate learning difficulty (9), Autistic spectrum disorder (8), Specific learning difficulty (5).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll670684672668665662
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals5%5%7%7%7%6%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language4%4%3%4%4%3%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support14%9%8%14%13%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%2%1%2%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school5.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.9%4.4%4.8%5.8%3.3%4.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.7%2.8%3.1%4.4%2.4%2.9%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.3%1.6%1.7%1.3%0.9%1.2%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence5.5%9.2%9.2%11.8%5.1%6.6%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.00.70.30.20.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers27.5full-time equivalent, 36 people
Pupils per teacher23.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers97%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants18.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,546
Teachers who left in the year7%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.32024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£5,251England £7,738. Total £3.6m
Income per pupil£5,255England £7,697. Total £3.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,787England £3,480
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £154k, £226 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£2,435it took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£5,251spent 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 m10612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate84 per 1,000 people8% lower than the England average
Typical house price£310,000Medway
Nearest bus stop140 mDrewery Drive East, 17 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
Deanwood Primary SchoolAcademy690 m238Good 202410Compare
Parkwood Primary SchoolAcademy820 m476Requires improvement 20231Compare
St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic980 m189Good 202462Compare
Hempstead Junior SchoolCouncil0.7 miles371Good 202453Compare
Hempstead Infant SchoolCouncil0.7 miles251Good 202458Compare
Miers Court Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles417Good 202125Compare
St Margaret's Church of England Junior SchoolAcademy1.2 miles363Good 202350Compare
St Margaret's Infant SchoolAcademy1.2 miles312Not inspectedCompare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Fairview Community Primary School with the 48 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 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats40%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 81 is 8 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 8 · middle 89 · highest 100100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Fairview Community Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
The Discovery SchoolCouncil9.0 miles634Outstanding 202393Compare
West Leigh Junior SchoolAcademy14.0 miles526Report card 202692Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 81 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 81% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 68 to 89. 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
+0.16
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 90 pupils
Ofsted inspection0%no data
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.15
DfE progress measure; 90 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.04
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.13
2024/25; 547 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.05
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 90 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 Fairview Community Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Fairview Community Primary School scores 81 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 40% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 68 to 89, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

How good are Fairview Community Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 73% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 11% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Fairview Community Primary School have?

670 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 690 places, so it is 97% full.

Is Fairview Community Primary School oversubscribed?

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

What is attendance like at Fairview Community Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 5% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Fairview Community Primary School?

The average class had 29.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

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

Contact and details

Address
Drewery Drive, Wigmore, Gillingham, ME8 0NU
Telephone
01634 338710
Website
www.fairviewprimary.co.uk
Head Teacher
Mrs Karin Tillett
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Medway
Ward
Hempstead & Wigmore
Constituency
Gillingham and Rainham
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
12 September 2005 (result of amalgamation)
URN
134904 · LAESTAB 8873759 · UKPRN 10071739
Formerly
Fair View Community Junior School, Fair View Community Infant School

Where these figures come from