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Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls

Secondary · Thamesmead · SE28 8RF

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 10 January 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,120 pupils · 93% of 1,200 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Free schools
Age range
11–16
Gender
Girls
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
42.2% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
18.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
11.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.woolwichpolygirls.co.uk
URN
143686

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 134 families named it first for 192 Year 7 places, 0.70 first choices per place. We hold 7 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2019 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 10 January 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 7.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.70 first-choice applications per place

192 places offered · 134 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

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.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Furthest child admitted, by admission rule (2026 entry)

Distance
10534.34 m (≈6.55 mi)

Places were not all filled that year, so these distances show how far the furthest child admitted under each rule lived, not how close you needed to be.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
47.5
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
67.5%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
45.1%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.1
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.

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school47.5
Median of its 12 closest peers40
Greenwich average48.7
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
St Paul's AcademyLondon · under 1 mile awayNeeds attention40.4
St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary AcademyDewsbury · 168 miles awayRequires improvement34.8
Accrington AcademyAccrington · 188 miles awayRequires improvement39.4
Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, HarlowHarlow · 17 miles awayRequires improvement38.9
Madeley AcademyTelford · 134 miles awayGood47.2
Stoke Damerel Community CollegePlymouth · 201 miles awayNeeds attention35.9
Ormiston Bushfield AcademyPeterborough · 74 miles awayGood46.3
St Cuthbert Mayne SchoolTorquay · 173 miles awayGood39.7
Burnside CollegeWallsend · 250 miles awayGood44.2
Manor Croft AcademyDewsbury · 168 miles awayGood47.8
Darwen Aldridge Community AcademyDarwen · 186 miles awayRequires improvement36.5
Trinity AcademyDoncaster · 152 miles awayGood42.4

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Black African 38% (Greenwich 24%, England 5%) · White British 14% (Greenwich 29%, England 59%) · Any other Black background 6% (Greenwich 4%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 6% (Greenwich 4%, England 3%) · Any other White background 6% (Greenwich 11%, England 7%) · Any other ethnic group 6% (Greenwich 4%, England 3%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (Greenwich 6%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 3% (Greenwich 1%, England 5%) · Black Caribbean 3% (Greenwich 3%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Greenwich 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Greenwich 3%, England 1%) · Asian Indian 2% (Greenwich 2%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Greenwich 2%, England 2%) · Not recorded 2% (Greenwich 4%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Greenwich 1%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Greenwich 1%, England 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)
7.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
20.1%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

11.07 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Greenwich: 14.36 suspensions and 0.13 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
16.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

80% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school · 11% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

85.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 12.6 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 £61,169; 8.3% 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 (2024-25)

This school£8,581
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 85% (77%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 5% (6%) · supplies and services 7% (11%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 2% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£1,066,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

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

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher42.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications15.2%18.1%
In managerial or professional work28.9%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways17%18.1%
Residents in very good health57.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier46.9%62.3%
Social housing21.6%17.1%
Privately rented30.6%20.5%
Detached houses8.5%22.9%
Flats12.9%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms8.8%21.1%
Households with no car or van29%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01033745 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£370,000170 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£325,000–£420,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (9)£525,000
Semi-detached (11)£405,000
Terraced (119)£385,000
Flat (31)£250,000

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

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
7an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
9an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
31an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
3an 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