St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Voluntary aided primary school in Tunbridge Wells (Kent).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
Welcome to St James' Church of England (Aided) Primary School. Our primary school opened in September 2019, formed from the merger of the infant and junior schools. I have been the Junior School headteacher since April 2012, and head of both schools since September 2017. St James' Primary School puts the child at the centre of their learning.
As a Church School, we believe this learning happens in a caring Christian environment and is based on our shared values where each one of us is respected and we understand our responsibility to ourselves, each other and the wider community.
We have high expectations for all of our children at St James' but above all, we want our pupils to be happy and successful individuals with a love of learning that lasts their whole lives. We recognise and value the important role that parents play and see effective education as a partnership between home and school.
Our aim is to help children in our care become self-confident and independent individuals who respect all members of our school community and recognise their growing responsibilities as citizens. Our school vision is set out below and underpins all that we do at our school:
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
5 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Drama
- Swimming
- Chess
- Forest School
- Talk Boost
Key facts
- URN
- 118725
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Kent
- Constituency
- Tunbridge Wells
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1900
Governing body (12 current, 3 former)
Maintained school governing body.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Judith Hammill | Chair of Governors | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2025 · until 2026 ends 2026 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sophie Tillman-Harries | Governor | Elected by parents | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Mr Shaun Butcher | Governor | Appointed by LA | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mrs Kate Jones | Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mr Mark Beacom | Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Jasmin Chudasama | Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Amanda Baker | Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Dr Osei Kankam | Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mrs Nina Skomorowski-Brown | Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2022 · until 2029 |
| Mrs Judith Hammill | Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2021 · until 2026 ends 2026 |
| Mrs Catherine Palmer | Governor | Elected by parents | since 2019 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mr John Tutt | Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2017 · until 2100 |
| Mrs Geri Argirova Former | Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2025 · term ended 2026 |
| Mrs Laura McNerlin Former | Governor | Elected by parents | since 2022 · term ended 2026 |
| Mrs Suzie Toombs Former | Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2019 · term ended 2026 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record