Woolwich Polytechnic School

Woolwich Polytechnic School is sustaining its status as a good school, with strong leadership and a clear vision to ensure success for all students. The school is characterized by a diverse and inclusive environment where high expectations are upheld. Relationships between students and staff are positive, with a focus on student well-being and a strong commitment to safeguarding. While most students engage well with their learning and benefit from a well-designed, ambitious curriculum, there are some concerns regarding the behaviour of a small minority of students outside of lessons.

Strengths

• High expectations set by leaders.
• Strong relationships between pupils and staff.
• Effective safeguarding measures.
• Ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum.
• Strong subject knowledge among teachers.
• Comprehensive professional development for staff.
• Supportive environment for students with SEND.
• Valuable extra-curricular opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of behaviour policy in corridors and social spaces.
• Timely support not provided for some pupils in a few 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 Woolwich Polytechnic School attended 93.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.2% 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, 5.2% of pupils at Woolwich Polytechnic School 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 Woolwich Polytechnic School had 15.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.6% 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 Woolwich Polytechnic School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.8% 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 Woolwich Polytechnic School received £9,200 and spent £9,433 for each of its 1,594 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,045,000 (£656 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Polymat, income was £8,920 and spending £8,914 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 Greenwich · Greenwich local authority: places and applications

Woolwich Polytechnic School is part of Polymat, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls Thamesmead
• Bannockburn Primary School London

What is Woolwich Polytechnic School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Woolwich Polytechnic School is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Woolwich Polytechnic School last inspected by Ofsted?

Woolwich Polytechnic School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Woolwich Polytechnic School have?

Woolwich Polytechnic School has 1,565 pupils on roll.

What age range does Woolwich Polytechnic School cover?

Woolwich Polytechnic School for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Woolwich Polytechnic School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.2, and 49% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Woolwich Polytechnic School?

Woolwich Polytechnic School is at Hutchins Road, Thamesmead, London, SE28 8AT.