Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School, Tunbridge Wells

Ofsted's report card from its 31 March 2026 inspection grades Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School on 7 areas: 2 strong standard and 5 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Leaders take every opportunity to promote the importance of attending regularly."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Leaders have created a highly effective school culture where diversity is genuinely celebrated and every pupil is valued."

Achievement - Expected standard. "Overall, pupils leave school well prepared for the next stage of their education."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders have designed an ambitious and interesting curriculum."

Early years - Expected standard. "The early years curriculum is designed carefully."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders foster a close sense of community and shared purpose."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The school day and the curriculum are full of opportunities which promote pupils' personal development."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that teachers promptly identify and address key gaps in pupils' foundational skills of spelling, writing and number so that all pupils secure the basics, achieve highly across the curriculum and are consistently well prepared for the next stage of their learning"; "Leaders should ensure that teaching is highly effective in the early years so that children develop their vocabulary and communication skills securely in all areas of learning and achieve as well as they could".

In its own words: "As a school community, we believe in nurturing children so that they become happy, confident, curious learners, who can drive their learning on through their lives. This ambition is reflected in our school vision, that forms the foundations of our school: A community which develops life-long learners who are confident to flourish in an ever changing world."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include gardening, Spanish, book club and forest school.

The school runs a breakfast club from 7:30am and after-school care, from £6.25 per session.

In 2025, 87% of Year 6 pupils at Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School reached the expected standard in reading and 73% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 73% in Kent and 77% and 75% across England.

Results fell from 97% in reading and 93% in maths in 2024.

With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.

For September 2026 entry, 13 families put Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School as their first choice and 46 named it as one of their preferences, for 15 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state primary schools to Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School are Rusthall St Paul's CofE Primary School (0.7 miles, 75% reading, 65% maths); The Wells Free School (0.8 miles, Good, 74% reading, 84% maths); Southborough CofE Primary School (1.1 miles, Good, 87% reading, 82% maths); and St Augustine's Catholic Primary School (1.2 miles, Good, 67% reading, 74% maths).

Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School's 2025 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

92 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School (as of April 2026): 96% would recommend the school, 96% say their child is happy there and 80% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (98%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (80%).

In 2026, 20 pupils (10.3%) received SEN support and 9 (4.6%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School has a resourced provision for physical disability: 7 places, 6 pupils on roll.

Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School had 13 teachers in 2026, one for every 14 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.

The nearest railway station is Tunbridge Wells Rail Station, about 1.1 miles away in a straight line.

1 bus stop is within a five-minute walk; the closest is Rydal Drive (adjacent), 290 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School issued 2 suspensions, 1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The secondary schools closest to Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School are Bennett Memorial Diocesan School (0.3 miles), Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School (0.8 miles), The Skinners' School (0.8 miles) and St Gregory's Catholic School (1.1 miles).