Swanlea School

Secondary Ages 11-18 1,253 pupils London
Ofsted: Outstanding
All schools in Tower Hamlets

Swanlea School is a community school in Tower Hamlets for pupils aged 11 to 18. It has 1,253 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Swanlea School is Outstanding, from an inspection in June 2024. In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 58.7, and 68% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE. Attendance is among the best for secondary schools in England, with 4% of sessions missed in 2024/25 compared with 8.4% nationally.

Ofsted inspection: June 2024. GCSE results: 2026. A-level results: 2025.

Type Secondary / Community school
Age Range 11-18
Religion Does not apply
Address 31 Brady Street
Whitechapel
London
E1 5DJ
Phone 02073753267
Reference Number 100973

General Makeup

Number of pupils 1253
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 62.01%
Girls: 37.99%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 42.1%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 19.3%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 23.2

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
7 137 72 209
8 110 100 210
9 127 86 213
10 126 80 206
11 136 65 201
12 78 35 113
13 63 38 101

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
African 3.9%
Mixed, Other 2.9%
White, Other 1.6%
Pakistani 1.1%
White, British 0.7%
Asian, Other 0.5%
White & Asian 0.3%
Indian 0.3%
Unclassified 0.2%
White & Black (African) 0.2%
Caribbean 0.2%

Swanlea School is performing exceptionally well, achieving an overall effectiveness rating of outstanding. The school maintains very high expectations for all pupils, who benefit from a well-structured curriculum that supports both academic success and personal development. Pupils participate in various enrichment activities that foster character building and social skills, preparing them effectively for their future educational and career paths. The school is notably successful in supporting disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs, ensuring that all students excel academically and socially.

Overall Ofsted Rating Outstanding
 >  Quality of education Outstanding
  >  Behaviour & Attitude Outstanding
  >  Personal Development Outstanding
  >  Leadership & Management Outstanding
  >  Sixth Form Provision Outstanding
Last Report Date 24 Apr 2024
Date Report
24 Apr 2024 School inspection:
03 Jul 2013 Full inspection:
14 Jun 2010 Curriculum and development visit
03 Mar 2009 Curriculum and development visit
18 Nov 2008 Full inspection:
02 Feb 2007 Curriculum and development visit
18 Apr 2005 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Exceptional curriculum with a focus on deep understanding and memory retention
  • High expectations for all pupils with a strong emphasis on personal development
  • Outstanding behaviour and positive relationships among pupils and staff
  • Effective support systems for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
  • Comprehensive enrichment activities that enhance student experiences

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

  • English
  • Maths
  • 3 subjects from qualifications that count towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), like sciences, language and history
  • 3 more GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or technical awards from a list approved by the Department for Education

Each grade a pupil gets is assigned a point score from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest). These scores are added up, with English and maths counted twice.

School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
58.7

GCSE Results

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths 68.2%
5 or more GCSEs at grade 9-4 (or A-C) 79.1%

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

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GCSE Results

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Points

Points Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Average Points 35.94
Average Points (best 3) 34.5

Grades

School Local Nationwide
Average Grade B- C+ C+
Average Grade (best 3) C+ C+ C+
Percentage Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Students getting AAB or better 6%
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Year 7 admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 243 3
Third Preference 192 1
From another Local Authority 27 1

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Swanlea School had 1,284 pupils for 1,271 places. That is 13 more pupils than the school has room for.

Pupils and places

Year 7 intake in the “Tower Hamlets Secondary” planning area

Tower Hamlets counted 2,823 Year 7 pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 2,429 in 2031–32, down 14%.

201020112012201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 1,0501,0501,0501,1071,1071,2581,2581,2581,2711,2711,2711,2711,2711,2711,271
Pupils 1,0811,1451,0071,2201,2201,2351,2701,2431,2171,2261,2711,2591,2911,3011,284
Unfilled 0.0%0.0%4.1%0.0%0.0%1.8%0.0%1.2%4.2%3.5%0.0%0.9%0.0%0.0%0.0%

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 Swanlea School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 8.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.7%3.1%2.7%2.4%2.4%2.1%1.8%2.4%2.4%3.3%3.1%
Unauthorised absence 0.7%1.1%0.8%1.0%1.3%1.2%0.5%0.7%1.2%1.0%0.9%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%0.1%0.0%0.0%0.1%0.1%0.0%0.0%0.1%0.2%0.3%

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, 4.1% of pupils at Swanlea School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 7.56.715.610.111.54.42.12.21.30.11.10.21.40.53.35.7
Permanent exclusions 0000000000000122

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 Swanlea School had 15.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 9.08.29.88.58.17.89.110.210.611.411.111.011.511.811.812.2
Teachers who left state teaching 14.5%11.3%10.9%7.7%8.3%20.9%12.2%9.5%9.7%9.1%13.3%10.3%13.1%13.7%9.1%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 80.5%81.5%89.2%82.3%82.5%83.2%88.1%78.9%74.3%–65.2%82.3%68.7%74.2%73.6%–
Sick days per teacher 4.96.27.27.36.05.57.05.04.7–6.07.74.36.74.2–

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, 11.1% of pupils at Swanlea School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 64 61
Social, emotional and mental health 35 5
Autistic spectrum disorder 6 12
Specific learning difficulty 11 1
Moderate learning difficulty 9 1
Other difficulty or disability 3 3
Physical disability 2 4
Hearing impairment 4 1
Vision impairment 4 1
Profound and multiple learning difficulty 0 2
Down's syndrome 0 1
Multi-sensory impairment 0 1
No specialist assessment of need 1 0
Severe learning difficulty 0 1

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 Swanlea School received £11,544 and spent £10,999 for each of its 1,253 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £4,004,000 (£3,196 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

20192020202120222023202420252026
Revenue reserve £1,404,000£1,964,000£2,654,000£2,779,000£2,625,000£2,381,000£3,322,000£4,004,000
per pupil £1,138£1,573£2,081£2,211£2,034£1,826£2,593£3,196
In-year balance -£911,000£340,000£690,000£125,000-£154,000-£244,000£941,000£683,000
per pupil -£738£273£541£100-£119-£187£734£545

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

Name Distance
Stewart Headlam Primary School
Tapp Street, Stepney, London, E1 5RE 		0.16 miles
Osmani Primary School
Vallance Road, Whitechapel, London, E1 5AD 		0.21 miles
Thomas Buxton Primary School
Buxton Street, Bethnal Green, Thomas Buxton Primary School, London, E1 5AR 		0.22 miles
Hague Primary School
Wilmot Street, London, E2 0BP 		0.29 miles
St Anne's and Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School
Underwood Road, Whitechapel, London, E1 5AW 		0.34 miles
John Scurr Primary School
Cephas Street, Stepney Green, London, E1 4AX 		0.34 miles
Al-Mizan School
46 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1JX 		0.35 miles
Date Palm Primary
80-82 Greenfield Road, London, London, E1 1EJ 		0.37 miles
William Davis Primary School
Wood Close, Cheshire Street, London, E2 6ET 		0.39 miles
Kobi Nazrul Primary School
Settles Street, Whitechapel, Kobi Nazrul Primary School, London, E1 1JP 		0.39 miles
Stepney Park Primary School
Smithy Street, Stepney, London, E1 3BW 		0.4 miles
Daffodil Preparatory School
161 - 163 Commercial Road, Tower Hamlets, London, E1 2DA 		0.4 miles
Buttercup Primary School
181 Cannon Street Road, London, E1 2LX 		0.46 miles
Bangabandhu Primary School
Wessex Street, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0LB 		0.5 miles
Bigland Green Primary School
Bigland Street, Wapping, London, E1 2ND 		0.52 miles
Christ Church CofE School
47a Brick Lane, Spitalfields, London, E1 6PU 		0.53 miles
Lawdale Junior School
Mansford Street, Bethnal Green, London, E2 6LS 		0.54 miles
Harry Gosling Primary School
Fairclough Street, London, E1 1NT 		0.55 miles
Elizabeth Selby Infants' School
Old Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, Elizabeth Selby Infant School, London, E2 6PP 		0.55 miles
St Mary and St Michael Primary School
Sutton Street, Stepney, London, E1 0BD 		0.58 miles
Name Distance
London East Academy
46 Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel, London, E1 1JX 		0.35 miles
London Islamic School
18-22 Damien Street, London, E1 2HX 		0.35 miles
Madani Secondary Girls' School
Myrdle Street, London, E1 1HL 		0.37 miles
Wapping High School
153 Commercial Road, London, Not applicable, E1 2DA 		0.4 miles
London Enterprise Academy
81-91 Commercial Road, Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, London, E1 1RD 		0.44 miles
Mulberry School for Girls
Richard Street, Commercial Road, London, E1 2JP 		0.45 miles
Darul Hadis Latifiah
1 Cornwall Avenue, London, E2 0HW 		0.48 miles
The Complete Works
1st Floor, Universal House, 88-94 Wentworth St, London, E1 7SA 		0.53 miles
Brick Lane School
Bacon Street, Tower Hamlets, E2 6DY 		0.55 miles
Jamiatul Ummah School
56 Bigland Street, Shadwell, London, E1 2ND 		0.56 miles
Oaklands School
Old Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 6PR 		0.59 miles
Mulberry Academy Shoreditch
Gosset Street, Bethnal Green, London, E2 6NW 		0.62 miles
Bishop Challoner Catholic School
352 Commercial Road, London, E1 0LB 		0.64 miles
OMG Education
85 Commercial Street, London, E1 6BG 		0.65 miles
Morpeth School
Portman Place, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0PX 		0.66 miles
Mazahirul Uloom London School
241-243 Mile End Road, Stepney, London, E1 4AA 		0.68 miles
Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School
Stepney Way, Stepney, London, E1 0RH 		0.76 miles
Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College
Ben Jonson Road, Stepney, London, E1 4SD 		0.76 miles
Mulberry Academy London Dock
6 Virginia Street, London, E1W 2AD 		0.85 miles
David Game College
31 Jewry Street, London, EC3N 2ET 		0.89 miles

All schools in Tower Hamlets · Tower Hamlets local authority: places and applications

What is Swanlea School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Swanlea School is Outstanding, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Swanlea School last inspected by Ofsted?

Swanlea School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Swanlea School have?

Swanlea School has 1,253 pupils on roll.

What age range does Swanlea School cover?

Swanlea School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Swanlea School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 58.7, and 68% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Swanlea School?

Swanlea School is at 31 Brady Street, Whitechapel, London, E1 5DJ.

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