School Chooser

Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough

Primary · ages 2-11MixedAcademy546 pupilsNurseryRochesterMedway
School Chooser Score
11
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 6 to 19
Out of 100. Better than 4% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, March 2024
Reached the expected level at 1152%England 63%
Attendance93.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families24%About the same as most schools in England
PlacesFull546 pupils, 525 places
Pupils per teacher15.6School workforce census

Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough is a converter academy in Rochester for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 546 pupils, 21 more than it has places for. About 24 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 11 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 4% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Pottery Road, Hoo St Werburgh, Rochester, ME3 9BS01634 338040hoo-st-werburgh.medway.sch.ukMrs Lorraine Boffa head of schoolAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 5 March 2024, 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”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1152%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level1%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score102.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score101.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 34%34%20172018: 57%57%20182019: 58%58%20192023: 53%53%20232024: 47%47%20242025: 52%52%2025
Since 2017: +18%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017MedwayEngland
Pupils tested677777697273
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths52%47%53%58%57%34%62%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths1%6%6%6%7%1%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score102.0104.0104.0103.0104.0101.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score101.0103.0103.0104.0104.0100.0103.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score100.0101.0103.0104.0106.0100.0103.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard61%60%60%59%72%48%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard58%53%60%68%68%45%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)75%60%65%72%68%51%
Reading progressReading progress score-3.8-1.0-0.3-4.2
Maths progressMaths progress score-4.2-0.3-0.7-4.2
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged39%31%41%42%54%25%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged57%55%60%64%59%39%

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
39%57%
Gap 18 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
50%54%
Gap 4 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
43%52%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%1%
Gap 1 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.

Full490 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
117% full

The school is full, with 70 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. Pupil numbers have fallen by 4% 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 roll546Census January 2026
Places525104% full
Pupils from low-income families24%24% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English3%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support22%118 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan19%103 pupils with a plan
Average class size21.223 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils9%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)27%£206,150 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls316 / 230
White British pupils80%

Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) and SEN unit with 87 pupils and a SEN unit with 87 pupils, for autism.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Medway with autism provision.

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 28.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 23.3 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (94), language and communications needs (55), emotional and mental health (45), Specific learning difficulty (15), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (6), Hearing impairment (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll546548567573572531
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals24%23%22%20%19%19%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language3%4%4%5%4%5%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support14%15%12%12%10%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans17%16%15%15%13%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school17.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.62024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.5%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.4%6.7%7.1%7.4%5.6%4.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.9%4.6%4.9%5.9%4.2%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.5%2.2%2.2%1.5%1.5%1.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence17.8%23.2%23.1%25.1%13.9%11.3%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.62.31.11.20.4
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers35.1full-time equivalent, 37 people
Pupils per teacher15.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers84%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants62.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£45,395
Teachers who left in the year20%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.62024/25

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£507England £7,128. Total £278k
Income per pupil£6,015England £7,587. Total £3.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£0England £3,405
Money in reserve11%A healthy amount put by: £347k, £633 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£3.0mit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£507spent 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 m16312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate63 per 1,000 people30% lower than the England average
Typical house price£310,000Medway
Nearest bus stop120 mSt Werburgh Crescent, 7 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
Leigh Academy Hundred of HooAcademy240 m1,829Good 202452Compare
St Mary's Island Church of England (Aided) Primary SchoolChurch of England1.2 miles663Good 202353Compare
Chattenden Primary SchoolAcademy1.2 miles203Good 202432Compare
Leigh Academy High HalstowAcademy2.0 miles241Outstanding 202397Compare
Burnt Oak Primary SchoolAcademy2.0 milesNot inspectedCompare
Wainscott Primary SchoolAcademy2.1 miles454Good 202412Compare
Saxon Way Primary SchoolAcademy2.2 miles396Not inspected21Compare
Oasis Academy Skinner StreetAcademy2.3 miles372Good 202120Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough with the 49 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 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats4%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 11 is 28 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 8 · middle 39 · highest 100100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough, 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
Mossbourne Herd Lane AcademyAcademy8.1 miles440Good 202234Compare
Darlinghurst AcademyAcademy10.1 miles547Not inspected75Compare
Coxheath Primary SchoolAcademy13.2 miles463Good 202337Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 11 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 11% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 6 to 19. 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%below
-0.15
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 67 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%well below
-0.25
DfE progress measure; 67 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.06
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.07
2024/25; 450 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.13
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 67 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 Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough a good school?

The figures are weak. Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough scores 11 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 4% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 6 to 19, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough good at its last full inspection on 5 March 2024.

How good are Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 52% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 1% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough have?

546 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 525 places, so it is 104% full.

Is Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 70 more pupils than places. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.

What is attendance like at Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough?

Pupils were in school 93.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough?

The average class had 21.2 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 9% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and the Marlborough have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) and sen unit for autism. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

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

Contact and details

Address
Pottery Road, Hoo St Werburgh, Rochester, ME3 9BS
Telephone
01634 338040
Website
www.hoo-st-werburgh.medway.sch.uk
Head of School
Mrs Lorraine Boffa
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Rivermead Inclusive Trust (6 schools)
Local authority
Medway
Ward
Hoo St Werburgh & High Halstow
Constituency
Rochester and Strood
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2016 (academy converter)
URN
143262 · LAESTAB 8872213 · UKPRN 10057859
Formerly
Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and Marlborough Centre

Where these figures come from