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Forest Hill School

Secondary · London · SE23 2XN

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 13 December 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,080 pupils · 70% of 1,535 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Community school
Age range
11–18
Gender
Boys
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
27.2% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
21.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
24.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.foresthillschool.co.uk/
URN
100745

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 126 families named it first for 168 Year 7 places, 0.75 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 1726.82 m (≈1.07 mi); distance decided places in 2 of the 8 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2019 to 2026. Ofsted last graded it Good on 13 December 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.75 first-choice applications per place

168 places offered · 126 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 1726.82 m (≈1.07 mi) for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 1726.82 m (≈1.07 mi)

measured in a straight line.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

179 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
52.3
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
73.2%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
58.7%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.8
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C+
34.1
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school52.3
Median of its 12 closest peers41.2
Lewisham average47.7
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Westfield AcademyYeovil · 117 miles awayGood44.5
West Coventry AcademyCoventry · 94 miles awayGood41.2
The Dorcan AcademySwindon · 73 miles awayExpected standard44.3
The Astley Cooper SchoolHemel Hempstead · 29 miles awayNeeds attention34.7
Northfleet Technology CollegeGravesend · 17 miles awayGood35.7
Our Lady's Catholic CollegeLancaster · 215 miles awayRequires improvement41.3
Eltham Hill SchoolLondon · 4 miles awayGood52.3
Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary AcademyLeeds · 174 miles awayNeeds attention35.1
The Adeyfield AcademyHemel Hempstead · 28 miles awayGood35.1
Dinnington High SchoolSheffield · 143 miles awayRequires improvement42.3
Finham Park 2Coventry · 93 miles awayGood43.8
Tabor AcademyBraintree · 40 miles awayNeeds attention38.5

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 41% (Lewisham 23%, England 59%) · Any other White background 10% (Lewisham 10%, England 7%) · Black African 9% (Lewisham 20%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 7% (Lewisham 8%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 6% (Lewisham 10%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 5% (Lewisham 5%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 4% (Lewisham 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 4% (Lewisham 5%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Lewisham 3%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 2% (Lewisham 4%, England 1%) · Not recorded 2% (Lewisham 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Lewisham 3%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Lewisham 1%, England 5%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Lewisham 1%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (Lewisham 1%, England 4%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.5%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
17.6%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

7.84 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Lewisham: 11.20 suspensions and 0.10 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
18.9
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

87% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school · 5% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained secondaries: 0.22% vacant, 0.42% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

81.8% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.8 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £65,540; 13.1% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£10,653
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 66% (77%) · premises 13% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (7%) · supplies and services 24% (10%) · educational supplies 7% (6%) · bought-in professional services 4% (2%) · catering 2% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £1,834,646; in-year balance -£2,614

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
92%
Continuing in education
90%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
45%
Apprenticeship
7%
Employment
16%
Any sustained destination
73%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher44.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications17%18.1%
In managerial or professional work35.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways24.2%18.1%
Residents in very good health52%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier34.6%62.3%
Social housing43.6%17.1%
Privately rented21.5%20.5%
Detached houses1.4%22.9%
Flats70.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms10.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van48%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01003313 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£500,000862 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£370,000–£690,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (17)£1,300,000
Semi-detached (81)£830,000
Terraced (327)£650,000
Flat (437)£375,000

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (1.73 km, 2026 entry): 2,236 sales, median £465,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
3an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
6an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
24an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
4an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools