Meadows School
Meadows School is a non-maintained special school in Tunbridge Wells for boys and girls aged 7 to 19. It has 65 pupils and room for 100. About 55 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.
London Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 0RJ01892 529144meadowsschool.org.ukMr Ed Reilly principalAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 12 November 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
8 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Kent | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 7.5 | 47.8 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -2.57 | -2.78 | -2.55 | -2.86 | -3.22 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 48% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 67% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 0.00 | 0.13 | 0.00 | 0.09 | 0.14 | 0.40 | 4.28 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 48% | 41% |
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
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 the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.
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 Kent with social, emotional and mental health provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (45), Autistic spectrum disorder (8), Other difficulty or disability (6), language and communications needs (3), Moderate learning difficulty (2), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 65 | 62 | 65 | 61 | 71 | 81 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 51% | 47% | 42% | 44% | 52% | 17% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 98% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 79.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 21.0% | 16.1% | 16.0% | 17.5% | 27.9% | 20.9% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 15.4% | 13.3% | 13.2% | 12.5% | 24.9% | 14.5% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 5.7% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 4.9% | 3.0% | 6.4% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 64.0% | 63.3% | 57.1% | 58.9% | 78.8% | 64.1% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 132.3 | 146.2 | 109.8 | 119.7 | 84.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 11 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 100%, compared with – for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 91% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 91% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
The area around the school
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southborough CofE Primary School | Church of England | 0.7 miles | 631 | Good 2024 | 77 | Compare |
| Bidborough Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | Church of England | 0.7 miles | 200 | Good 2022 | 83 | Compare |
| St Gregory's Catholic School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 1,093 | No overall grade 2024 | 49 | Compare |
| Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys | Council (grammar) | 1.0 miles | 1,875 | Report card 2026 | 88 | Compare |
| St Matthew's High Brooms Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | Church of England | 1.1 miles | 293 | Requires improvement 2024 | 7 | Compare |
| OA Tunbridge Wells | Academy alternative provision sponsor led | 1.1 miles | 0 | Inadequate 2024 | – | Compare |
| St Augustine's Catholic Primary School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 241 | Report card 2026 | 16 | Compare |
| St John's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 1.2 miles | 633 | Good 2023 | 73 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Meadows School a good school?
Meadows School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in November 2024.
What is Meadows School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Meadows School not judged at its last full inspection on 12 November 2024.
How good are Meadows School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 0.5, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Meadows School have?
65 pupils aged 7 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 100 places, so it is 65% full.
What is attendance like at Meadows School?
Pupils were in school 79.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 64% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Meadows School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Meadows School 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.
Does Meadows School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- London Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 0RJ
- Telephone
- 01892 529144
- Website
- www.meadowsschool.org.uk
- Principal
- Mr Ed Reilly
- 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
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 7-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Kent
- Ward
- Southborough & Bidborough
- Constituency
- Tunbridge Wells
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 119029 · LAESTAB 8867011 · UKPRN 10017907
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.