Drapers' Academy

Drapers’ Academy is a larger-than-average 11–18 mixed secondary academy in Havering and part of Drapers’ Multi-Academy Trust. Inspectors found the school performing well across the board, with good provision in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth form. Safeguarding is effective. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and under current arrangements it did not receive an overall effectiveness grade. The school is ambitious for pupils and offers a broad, well-considered curriculum, including in the sixth form. Pupils feel safe, are well understood and behave well; relationships are strong and behaviour incidents are followed up closely. Reading is prioritised, pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well, and there is a strong personal development and careers programme. Staff feel supported, and leaders and trustees provide effective challenge and support. The main areas for improvement concern consistency in teaching and assessment. In some lessons, checks on understanding do not sharply identify and correct misconceptions, and in some subjects pupils’ written work is variable, with tasks sometimes incomplete. Leaders are also continuing to improve national examination outcomes so they match the school’s ambitions, and attendance remains an ongoing priority for some families.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and their individual needs are well understood.
• Staff respond swiftly and effectively to pupils’ concerns.
• Pupils are encouraged to become leaders through reading support, house events, the school newspaper and sports leadership.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced in most subjects.
• Pupils, including those with SEND, are well prepared for the next stage of education, employment or training.
• Pupils typically behave well in lessons and around the school site.
• Reading is prioritised, with effective support and staff training.
• Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and well supported, including through external agencies and careers-focused activities.
• Personal development is well sequenced and includes workshops, assemblies, guest speakers and strong careers preparation.
• Sixth-form students benefit from university visits and many progress to their first-choice university.
• Staff feel well supported, value professional development and appreciate steps to reduce workload.
• Leaders and governors are ambitious and use a forensic understanding of the school to provide effective challenge and support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers’ checks on learning do not consistently identify and address misconceptions or gaps in pupils’ knowledge.
• Some pupils’ written work is of variable quality, with incomplete tasks and inconsistent evidence of secure knowledge over time.
• Not all teachers ensure pupils complete tasks or check that work demonstrates sufficient understanding.
• National examination outcomes are still being improved to match leaders’ ambitions.
• Attendance remains an ongoing priority for some families despite improving overall.

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 Drapers' Academy attended 89.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 32.7% 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, 11.9% of pupils at Drapers' Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 8 pupils were 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 Drapers' Academy had 15.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.2% 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, 17.1% of pupils at Drapers' Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 2024–25 Drapers' Academy received £9,417 and spent £9,186 for each of its 1,207 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £747,000 (£619 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Drapers' Multi-Academy Trust, income was £10,173 and spending £9,883 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Havering · Havering local authority: places and applications

Drapers' Academy is part of Drapers' Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Drapers' Maylands Primary School Romford
• Drapers' Pyrgo Priory School Romford
• Drapers' Brookside Infant School Romford
• Drapers' Brookside Junior School Romford

What is Drapers' Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Drapers' Academy is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Drapers' Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Drapers' Academy was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Drapers' Academy have?

Drapers' Academy has 1,196 pupils on roll.

What age range does Drapers' Academy cover?

Drapers' Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Drapers' Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.4, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Drapers' Academy?

Drapers' Academy is at Settle Road, Harold Hill, Romford, Essex, RM3 9XR.