In-Year admissions for 2024-2025

If you would like to get a flavour of life and learning in our classes please click here to see current class pages.

Virtual Tour of Our School

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Reception Admissions

Q. How are places allocated at Southborough? How do I apply?

The school admissions criteria states that the children will be allocated a place in the following order

• Children in Local Authority Care
• Children with a brother or sister who are already in school
• Children with health and special access reasons
• Distance of a child’s home from the school (measured in a straight line)

We are a voluntary controlled Church of England Primary School and although this means we are a Church school, attendance and faith preference are not taken into account, we are an inclusive school and welcome all pupils whatever their faith.

Further details about how to apply, admission processes and how school places are allocated are found on the admissions page of Kent County Council website.

Click here to Apply for a place for reception September 2025

In-Year Admissions Process

All admissions that do not form part of the coordinated Reception application process are called ‘in year admissions’.

All ‘in year’ school applications regardless of year group and point of entry should be made directly to the school that you wish your child to attend. If you are interested in your child joining Southborough, please contact the school office office@southborough.kent.sch.uk to find out if there are any available places and to arrange a visit. To make a formal application for a place, you will need to complete an In Year Admission Form (IYAF) and return it to the school office for processing.  You will normally be notified of the outcome of your application in writing within 10 school days. If there is no space available, you will have the option of appealing for a place, and the letter you will receive will explain how to do this. 

Click here for Kent In-Year admissions information.

We hold a waiting list for year groups in which the school is full. This waiting list is prioritised according to the current admissions criteria and is re-ranked each time a new application is received. When a place becomes available we will offer it to the child at the top of the waiting list for that year group. If your child is currently at another local school and a place becomes available at Southborough, we would recommend that you carefully consider the impact that changing schools might have on your child before you decide whether to accept the place offered, and discuss your options with the headteacher of your current school.

Southborough is an over-subscribed school and we are often full in all year groups but we do have some spaces. However, if you have moved into the local area and are struggling to find a school place for your child, you can contact the Kent County Council Primary Admissions Team for advice.

Kent County Council In Year Admissions team 

03000 41 21 21

kentinyearadmissions@kent.gov.uk

Helpful information about our school for prospective parents

Q. Do you provide wrap around care at Southborough?

Our staff run a breakfast club for the children attending Southborough.  We currently offer childcare after school for children in Years 2 - 6, and we liaise and support a range of local providers who will collect younger children from us.

Q. Do you run after school activities?

We run a number of clubs in lunchtimes and after school for children in Y1-6. These include chargeable clubs run by outside companies such as football, dance, drama and Spanish. We also run a number of clubs at lunchtimes such as choir, drumming and PE. Wednesday after school each week is our big club night where staff run a whole range of activities including sports, art, STEM/tech and Story Seekers.

Q. Do children have the opportunity to swim when they are at Southborough?

We are very fortunate that our school is so close to the St John’s swimming pool. This means we can easily walk to the pool for lessons. Children in Upper School (Years 4-6) go swimming for half the year each meaning that all children have a year of small group lessons. It is our aim that every child can swim at least 25 metres confidently before they leave us and those children who are already able to swim have the opportunity to further improve their swimming skills. 

Q. How is behaviour approached at Southborough?

The school expects every member of the school community to show respect and care for each other and their environment. Our Christian school ethos and values underpin our behaviour policy and strategies. Our children are well behaved learners as a result of the strong importance we give to being a kind, honest, courteous and compassionate members of our school.

We know from time to time a very small number of children struggle with their behaviour due to particular challenges they have to deal with. On those occasions we offer them extra support and understanding as well as focusing on the rest of the class’s learning and wellbeing.

Q. Is there bullying at Southborough?

Unfortunately no school is going to be able to say that there aren’t episodes of bullying from time to time. However, at Southborough all our children know we have zero tolerance to this and when this is identified as such then we work closely with the children involved in addressing this. Children know any incidents will be dealt with. Our incidences of bullying are extremely low as a result of our school ethos and Christian values as well as our robust PSHE curriculum. We ensure children enjoy playtimes (where research shows incidents are more likely to occur) by providing a range of supervised games and activities and our high staff ratio mean that children are well supported during these less structured times and staff can address any potential issues early.

Q. Do children wear uniform?

At Southborough we believe it’s important that we look smart and dress appropriately for school. We believe that uniform unifies all the children in the school, giving them a strong sense of identity and being part of a team. Click here for Uniform information

Q. How many teachers do you have?

All of our classes benefit from having fully trained teachers, usually one per class or in a few cases, classes will benefit from two teachers as part of a job share arrangement. Teachers also work across the year group so they lead a class but also get to know and support all children in their Year group. This means that children gain hugely from the expertise of all teachers in their Year group ensuring high standards of teaching and learning in all subjects as well as an increased number of teachers to support and mentor them.

In addition we have a team of specialist teachers who teach across the school, namely our P.E., Art and Music teachers, this means we have an experienced, rich and diverse team of teachers to enhance children’s educational opportunities.

Q. How do you communicate with parents?

We have an open door for all parents and carers. We believe passionately in strong parent partnership and working together to ensure your child is happy and learning well. There are regular opportunities to contact the class teacher or member of the senior management team informally at the beginning or end of the day on the school gate or via email or a telephone call. There are also regular more formal occasions such as termly consultations and bi-annual reports.

Our website has a huge amount of general information about our school as well as specific class pages for you where we share your child’s life and learning. We use Arbor Parent Portal to electronically send you letters and news including our weekly mid-week news and newsletter. The website and newsletters in particular give you a good range of information and a flavour of what’s happening in the whole school.

Q. Which secondary schools do children go on to?

As we are situated in Southborough, children are fortunate to have the opportunity to access a variety of excellent secondary schools in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge. We find many of our parents wish their child to move onto a secondary school that is also a church, local school and generally a third of our Year 6 move to either Bennett or St.Gregorys, which is particularly popular with it being so close in proximity. About a third of families also choose the Grammar school route and these children choose a range of Grammar schools including Judd, TOGGS, Skinners, TWGSB,TWGGS and Weald. The rest of the cohort often chose specialist subject schools such as Leigh Academy or Hillview or choose a mixed gender secondary such as Skinners Kent Academy.

We know that moving to secondary school can be just as challenging as choosing a primary school and we support you through the process. Our formal and informal assessments at Southborough every term and year ensure that we build up a very strong long term academic picture of your child during their time at Southborough and which types of schools may be the right setting for them to continue to thrive in when they leave us.