SCHOOL PROFILE

Sydenham School

Secondary Community school URN 100741
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,580 Published school capacity
Capacity used 92.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

19 May 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum & teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour Strong standard
Personal development Strong standard
Leadership & governance Strong standard
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

22 June 2022
Ungraded inspection School remains Good
Published 21 September 2022
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Community school
Phase Secondary
Gender Girls
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Lewisham
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 1,467 1,467 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 1,452 99.0% of pupils
Male pupils 15 1.0% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

26.6%
1.8 pts above England
School 26.6%
Lewisham 27.8%
London 26.3%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

17.4%
2.9 pts below England
School 17.4%
Lewisham 31.5%
London 39.2%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.3%
0.7 pts below England
School 0.3%
Lewisham 0.6%
London 0.5%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
36.1%
530
African
13.6%
199
Any other White background
8.9%
130
Any other Mixed background
7.7%
113
Caribbean
6.4%
94
White and Black Caribbean
5.6%
82
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 18.2% 267 of 1,467 pupils
2.6 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 18.2%
Lewisham 21.8%
London 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 16.2% 237 pupils
England 14.8% 1.4 pts above
EHC plans 2.0% 30 pupils
England 6.0% 4.0 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Specific learning difficulty 70
No specialist assessment yet 41
Other difficulty or disability 36
Speech, language & communication 35
Autistic spectrum disorder 30
Social, emotional & mental health 30

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

50.8 11.6 pts above England
School 50.8
Lewisham 40.9
London 42.1
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 48.6% England 36.0% 12.6 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 72.5% England 51.4% 21.1 pts above England
EBacc entry 67.9% England 30.6% 37.3 pts above England
EBacc average point score 4.64 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.10 · 2023/24

Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.

ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

8.23%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.02 pts higher than England
School 8.23%
Lewisham 5.79%
London 6.38%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

26.39%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

10.57 pts higher than England
School 26.39%
Lewisham 16.14%
London 17.60%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.61%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.81 pts higher than England
School 2.61%
Lewisham 1.28%
London 1.67%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

92.8% 0.5 pts above England
Sydenham School
92.8%
Lewisham
87.9%
London
91.3%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information