Central Foundation Girls' School, London

Ofsted's report card from its 6 January 2026 inspection grades Central Foundation Girls' School on 7 areas: 5 strong standard and 2 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Strong standard. "Pupils' progress through the curriculum is excellent."

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Pupils' attendance to school is excellent."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Leaders have developed robust systems and processes to identify the specific needs of pupils with special educational need and/or disabilities (SEND)."

Leadership and governance - Strong standard. "Leaders know their school extremely well and have been accurate in identifying the school's strengths and development areas."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Leaders have planned a comprehensive personal development programme that meets the pupils' needs as they progress from Year 7 to post 16."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "The school's curriculum extends beyond the requirements of the national curriculum."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "The school operates an inclusive sixth form that offers a broad range of A level subjects alongside level 3 applied courses."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that its strategy for checking pupils' understanding of new knowledge is embedded consistently across all subjects and key stages in the school"; "Leaders should implement and monitor the remainder of their post 16 strategy so that achievement is consistent across all subjects".

From the headteacher's welcome: "It is an absolute privilege to lead this remarkable school. We are a school that provides a high-quality education for girls from 11 to 19 years old. A school that is rightfully proud to continue a long tradition of excellence in education as well as caring for the welfare of our students."

Coming up: an open day on Sunday 7 March 2027. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Central Foundation Girls' School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 53, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.4 in Tower Hamlets and 47 across England.

58% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Tower Hamlets and 47% in England.

That is down from 54.3 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.5: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 50.8, against 55.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 4.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and Social Studies.

For September 2026 entry, 170 families put Central Foundation Girls' School as their first choice and 445 named it as one of their preferences, for 214 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Central Foundation Girls' School are Mulberry UTC (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 28.6); St Paul's Way Trust School (0.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52); Morpeth School (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.8); and Bow School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.8).

Central Foundation Girls' School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

60 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Central Foundation Girls' School (as of April 2026): 73% would recommend the school, 63% say their child is happy there and 55% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (82%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (55%).

Of the 238 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 97% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 12% to a further education college and 0% into work.

Of the 150 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 69% went on to university or other higher education, 5% to apprenticeships and 7% into work. 28% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

45% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 41.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Asian (83%) and Black (6%).

In 2026, 115 pupils (7.5%) received SEN support and 35 (2.3%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.

Central Foundation Girls' School had 118 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest Underground station is Bow Road Underground Station, about 240 metres away (roughly a 3-minute walk).

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Coborn Road, 120 metres away.

In 2024/25, Central Foundation Girls' School issued 50 suspensions, 3.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Central Foundation Girls' School are Malmesbury Primary School (under 0.1 miles), Wellington Primary School (0.2 miles), Olga Primary School (0.4 miles) and St Agnes RC Primary School (0.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.