Acland Burghley School

Acland Burghley School continues to be rated as a good school, fostering an inclusive community where all students feel welcome and supported. Leaders uphold high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), ensuring they receive necessary adaptations to access the curriculum. Pupils display positive attitudes and enthusiasm for learning, benefiting from a wide variety of extracurricular activities that enhance their educational experience. While overall performance is strong, there are areas needing improvement, particularly in teaching practices. Occasionally, some lessons do not effectively check student understanding before introducing new content, which can hinder long-term retention of knowledge. Additionally, there are instances where staff do not consistently maintain high expectations for pupil engagement and attention, which affects the quality of work produced by some students. This ungraded inspection serves as a follow-up to the previous good rating from March 2018, confirming the school's continued solid standing amidst national educational challenges.

Strengths

• Strong support for pupils with SEND ensuring access to ambitious curriculum.
• Staff demonstrate strong subject knowledge and present lessons clearly.
• Positive pupil behavior noted during lessons and around the school.
• Wide range of extracurricular activities enhancing pupil engagement.
• Effective personal development curriculum promoting safety and health.
• High-quality careers guidance provided to all students.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent checking of pupils' understanding before progressing in lessons.
• Occasional low expectations from staff leading to lack of focus from some pupils.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Acland Burghley School attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 5.8% of pupils at Acland Burghley School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Acland Burghley School had 13.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 21.7% of pupils at Acland Burghley School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 20 pupils.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Acland Burghley School received £11,058 and spent £11,188 for each of its 1,256 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £219,000 (£174 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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What is Acland Burghley School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Acland Burghley School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Acland Burghley School last inspected by Ofsted?

Acland Burghley School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Acland Burghley School have?

Acland Burghley School has 1,252 pupils on roll.

What age range does Acland Burghley School cover?

Acland Burghley School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Acland Burghley School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 55.2, and 61% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Acland Burghley School?

Acland Burghley School is at Burghley Road, London, NW5 1UJ.