Canary Wharf Secondary

Canary Wharf College Crossharbour is currently rated as requiring improvement, having shifted from a previous good inspection grade. The school is under the leadership of an interim headteacher, Geoff Roberts, and is part of a multi-academy trust. While there are notable strengths in the school’s ambitious curriculum and a generally orderly environment, there are significant concerns related to the support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those struggling with reading. Many pupils indicate a lack of confidence in reporting safety concerns, contributing to an overall perception of an inconsistent approach to safeguarding and behaviour management.

Strengths

• Ambitious and well-designed curriculum that aligns with national expectations.
• A wide range of enrichment activities available to all pupils.
• Strong emphasis on promoting character strengths among pupils.
• Improvements in attendance support procedures.

Areas for Improvement

• Insufficient support for pupils with SEND and early readers.
• Inconsistencies in the application of behaviour management systems.
• Limited staff training on safeguarding procedures.
• Parents have mixed views on the school's effectiveness due to recent staffing turbulence.

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 Canary Wharf Secondary attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.0% 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, 8.9% of pupils at Canary Wharf Secondary were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Canary Wharf Secondary had 11.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.2% 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, 20.1% of pupils at Canary Wharf Secondary were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.4% 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 Canary Wharf Secondary received £12,532 and spent £12,680 for each of its 462 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £596,000 (£1,289 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of University Schools Trust, East London, income was £11,175 and spending £11,053 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.

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• Secondary Schools

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

Canary Wharf Secondary is part of University Schools Trust, East London, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Canary Wharf Primary, East Ferry London
• Canary Wharf Primary, Glenworth London
• Cyril Jackson Primary School London
• Sir William Burrough Primary School London
• St Paul's Way Trust School London
• Royal Greenwich Trust School London

What is Canary Wharf Secondary's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Canary Wharf Secondary is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Canary Wharf Secondary last inspected by Ofsted?

Canary Wharf Secondary was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Canary Wharf Secondary have?

Canary Wharf Secondary has 417 pupils on roll.

What age range does Canary Wharf Secondary cover?

Canary Wharf Secondary for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Canary Wharf Secondary's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 51.2, and 56% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Canary Wharf Secondary?

Canary Wharf Secondary is at 7 Selsdon Way, London, E14 9GL.