St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Voluntary aided primary school in Swanley (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
St Marys was originally built in 1896 in Goldsel Road and was opened by The Rt. Hon. W. Hart Dyke. The current St Marys Primary School was built in 1968 and used both the current building and Swanley Youth Community Centre building. In 1993 the school was reformed into the current building and was opened by The Rt. Rev. Michael Turnbull (Bishop of Rochester).
In the school car park there stands the original foundation stone Laid by The Rt. Hart Dyke back in 1896. In 1066 Swanley consisted of a few cattle farms surrounded by woodlands.
The name Swanley originates from the Saxon term Swine-ley; Swine meaning pigs and ley meaning a clearing in the woods, so it has been suggested that Swanley used to be a Saxon pig farm or a stopping place for pig farmers on their way to markets in Kent.
Early Ordinance Survey maps show that Swanley used to be a crossroads: north from Dartford and Wilmington, and South to Crockenhill, Farningham, Eynsford and Darenth Valley. The east/west road was the London to Maidstone/Dover road. This area was known as Birchwood Street.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
8 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Music
- Destination Reader
- Forest School
- Growth Mindset
- Philosophy for Children (P4C)
- Power of Reading
- Oxford Reading Tree
- Talk Boost
Awards
3 awardsiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Duke of EdinburghPersonal development
- Nurturing Schools AwardRecognised award
- Sing UpRecognised award
Key facts
- URN
- 118754
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Kent
- Constituency
- Sevenoaks
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Governing body (2 current, 0 former)
Maintained school governing body.
Governors
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fr Dane Batley Gladden | Governor | Ex-officio foundation governor (appointed by foundation by virtue of the office they hold) | since 2015 |
| Mrs Amanda McGarrigle | Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2007 |
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