Chelsea Academy, London

From the headteacher's welcome: "Every year over several hundred students want to join us in Year 7. Our outstanding and competitive Sixth Form also attracts hundreds of external applicants each year. As a parent of three girls and an educator with thirty years of experience behind me, I am passionate and committed about the difference school can make to our children."

Coming up: an open day on Friday 30 October 2026 at 8am and an open evening on Thursday 12 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Chelsea Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 53.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 53.5 in Kensington and Chelsea and 47 across England.

58% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 60% in Kensington and Chelsea and 47% in England.

That is up from 51.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.23: pupils made 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 50.5, against 56.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 24 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 108 families put Chelsea Academy as their first choice and 499 named it as one of their preferences, for 170 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 10 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Chelsea Academy are Saint John Bosco College (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.6); The London Oratory School (0.5 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 59.9); The Fulham Boys School (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 63.8); and Lady Margaret School (0.8 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 64.7).

Chelsea Academy's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

Chelsea Academy is run by its own single-school academy trust.

Of the 176 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 88% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 25% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 146 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 71% went on to university or other higher education, 3% to apprenticeships and 10% into work. 30% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

46.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 29.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Black (23%), other ethnic groups (22%) and Mixed (21%).

Chelsea Academy has a resourced provision for autism: 12 places, 11 pupils on roll.

Chelsea Academy had 83 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 railway station is Imperial Wharf Station, about 310 metres away (roughly a 4-minute walk).

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Lots Road (->n), 140 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 1020 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and other theft. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Kensington and Chelsea (1593).

In 2024/25, Chelsea Academy issued 195 suspensions, 17.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to Chelsea Academy are Ashburnham Community School (0.3 miles), Langford Primary School (0.4 miles), Westbridge Academy (0.5 miles) and Park Walk Primary School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.