Horsted Infant School, Chatham
Horsted Infant School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 7 in Chatham, part of The Bluebell MAT.
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Medway (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Horsted Infant School in detail
Getting a place at Horsted Infant School
Across Medway, 94% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 99% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2026, families in Medway lodged 48 appeals against primary school offers; 37 reached a hearing and 15 succeeded (40.5% of those heard).
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Horsted Infant School are Horsted Infant School (under 0.1 miles, Good); Horsted Junior School (under 0.1 miles); Horsted Junior School (under 0.1 miles, Good, 87% reading, 85% maths); and Oaklands School (0.6 miles, 80% reading, 70% maths).
Horsted Infant SchoolHorsted Junior SchoolHorsted Junior SchoolOaklands School
The trust
Horsted Infant School is one of 4 schools run by The Bluebell MAT, an academy trust.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Chatham Rail Station, about 2.1 miles away in a straight line.
13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Watson Avenue (n-bound), 100 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 137 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Medway (250).
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Horsted Infant School are Walderslade School (0.6 miles), PGW Partnership of Greenacre and Walderslade (0.6 miles), Greenacre School (0.7 miles) and The Thomas Aveling School (1 mile).
Walderslade SchoolPGW Partnership of Greenacre and WaldersladeGreenacre SchoolThe Thomas Aveling School
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Horsted Infant School has not been inspected by Ofsted since it became an academy in September 2026. Before that, as Horsted Infant School (URN 118442), it was rated Good in October 2023. See Horsted Infant School's inspections
At a Glance
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Horsted Infant School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Horsted Infant School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Horsted Infant School is in Medway; for families living there:
Apply to Medway for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 20
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 20 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 18 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Medway is 25 (the median across 117 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Will you get a place at Horsted Infant School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Horsted Infant School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Horsted Infant School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Horsted Infant School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Medway, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- How many families in Medway got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
£9.99 once
One school, inc. VAT. Or £19.99 for up to three schools.
Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time
A report for any school, plus everything else in Pro.
Applications and offers at Horsted Infant School before it became an academy in 2026
Published under the school's previous registration (URN 118442). There are no figures for it in its current form yet, so these are shown separately.
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 54 | 52 | 110 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 51 | 46 | 121 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2024 | 56 | 53 | 143 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2023 | 60 | 72 | 158 | 1.2 | 13 |
| 2022 | 59 | 72 | 160 | 1.2 | 13 |
| 2021 | 60 | 62 | 152 | 1.0 | 5 |
| 2020 | 59 | 80 | 190 | 1.4 | 24 |
| 2019 | 59 | 96 | 212 | 1.6 | 39 |
| 2018 | 60 | 74 | 193 | 1.2 | 15 |
| 2017 | 60 | 83 | 181 | 1.4 | 25 |
| 2016 | 59 | 53 | 141 | 0.9 | 2 |
| 2015 | 60 | 55 | 164 | 0.9 | 4 |
| 2014 | 60 | 52 | 117 | 0.9 | 2 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.
Capacity & Demand
Area Demand Pressure - Chatham
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Chatham
Across Medway council
Places available
3,675
Applications
3,130
Got 1st preference
93.9%
Got preferred school
99.1%
All primary applications across Medway council (2026/27), not just this school.
Absence at Horsted Infant School before it became an academy in 20262024/25
Published under the school's previous registration (URN 118442). There are no figures for it in its current form yet, so these are shown separately.
4.1%
Overall absence
7.4%
Persistent absence
122
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Questions parents ask about Horsted Infant School
What is Horsted Infant School's Ofsted rating?
Horsted Infant School has not been inspected by Ofsted since it became an academy in September 2026. Before that, as Horsted Infant School (URN 118442), it was rated Good in October 2023.
What is the catchment area for Horsted Infant School?
No fixed boundary. When Horsted Infant School is oversubscribed, Medway allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How do I apply to Horsted Infant School?
Apply through Medway's coordinated admissions process, naming Horsted Infant School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Horsted Infant School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 20 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 18 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Medway is 25 (the median across 117 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Horsted Infant School?
Horsted Infant School is at Barberry Avenue, Chatham, Kent, ME5 9TF.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)