South Bank University Academy

South Bank University Academy is performing at the expected standard overall, with safeguarding met and no areas requiring urgent improvement. Inspectors found an ambitious, carefully designed curriculum, generally effective teaching, and pupils who typically achieve well across most subjects. Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND often achieve well compared with their peers nationally, and the school is described as welcoming and inclusive, with calm classrooms, respectful behaviour and strong personal development, careers education and sixth-form provision. The school is part of South Bank Academies and is moving from an 11-19 school to a sixth-form centre; Years 8 and 9 are transferring to other local schools and Year 7 admissions have ceased. Leaders and governors have a clear understanding of strengths and priorities, make effective use of pupil premium funding, and are valued by staff for their attention to workload and wellbeing. Inclusion is a notable strength: staff know pupils' individual needs, provide tailored support, counselling, mentoring and external agency help, and use alternative provision appropriately when it is in pupils' best interests. The sixth form offers ambitious study programmes, and disadvantaged students and those with SEND achieve well, especially in vocational courses. The main area needing attention is attendance: despite strengthened monitoring and strategies, persistent absence remains too high and some groups of pupils do not attend regularly enough, missing learning and wider opportunities. Leaders' actions have not yet had sufficient impact. There are also inconsistencies in how well agreed SEND strategies are implemented, how carefully teachers check understanding and address misconceptions, and how consistently literacy and numeracy interventions are applied across subjects. A-level outcomes have historically been below national averages, although leaders' targeted support and closer monitoring are beginning to improve results.

Strengths

• Ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum that builds knowledge logically over time.
• Pupils typically achieve well across most subjects and are well prepared for next steps.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND often achieve well compared with peers nationally.
• Strong inclusive culture where staff know pupils as individuals and provide tailored support.
• Effective support for pupils facing barriers, including counselling, mentoring and external agency coordination.
• Calm, purposeful classrooms with high behaviour expectations and uncommon low-level disruption.
• Pupils feel safe, behave respectfully and trust staff to resolve bullying or discrimination quickly.
• Personal development programme prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain, including online safety and mental health.
• Wide careers and university links, employer encounters and tailored guidance help pupils make informed choices.
• Effective governance and leadership with appropriate challenge, including oversight of pupil premium strategy.
• Staff feel valued; leaders are thoughtful about workload and wellbeing and support early career teachers.
• Sixth-form programmes are ambitious and prepare students for university, apprenticeships and employment.
• Disadvantaged sixth-form students and those with SEND achieve well, especially in vocational subjects.
• Appropriate use of alternative provision and personalised pastoral support for pupils at risk of disengaging.
• Wider opportunities such as sports, debating, robotics, gardening and cultural visits build confidence and cultural appreciation.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance is too low for some groups, and persistent absence remains well above national average.
• Leaders' attendance strategies have not yet had sufficient impact, and it is too soon to determine their effect.
• Agreed strategies to support pupils with SEND are not always implemented consistently in lessons.
• Teachers sometimes do not check pupils' understanding carefully enough or address misconceptions before moving on.
• Literacy and numeracy interventions are not implemented consistently across subjects.
• A-level outcomes have been below national averages over time, although improvements are emerging.
• Some aspects of leaders' monitoring are not precise enough, including impact of attendance actions and participation in wider activities.
• Some older pupils would welcome more opportunities to contribute to and participate in clubs and wider activities.
• Outcomes in national tests vary between subjects.

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 South Bank University Academy attended 89.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 35.2% 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, 15.7% of pupils at South Bank University Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 South Bank University Academy had 14.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.5% 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, 11.4% of pupils at South Bank University Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% 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 2022–23 South Bank University Academy received £10,717 and spent £10,894 for each of its 654 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £792,000 (£1,211 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 Southwark · Southwark local authority: places and applications

South Bank University Academy is part of South Bank Academies, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• South Bank University Sixth Form London

What is South Bank University Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for South Bank University Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was South Bank University Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

South Bank University Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does South Bank University Academy have?

South Bank University Academy has 405 pupils on roll.

What age range does South Bank University Academy cover?

South Bank University Academy for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are South Bank University Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 32.6, and 26% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is South Bank University Academy?

South Bank University Academy is at Trafalgar Street, London, SE17 2TP.