Chestnut Grove Academy, London
Chestnut Grove Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 19 in London, part of Wandle Learning Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 60th-highest of the 266 schools in London with published results, and 362nd of 3,298 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.4 first-choice applications for every place. It was 90% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Better than England average
- Progress (2024)
- Above average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Wandsworth (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Chestnut Grove Academy in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Chestnut Grove Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 57.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 52.8 in Wandsworth and 47 across England.
65% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 58% in Wandsworth and 47% in England.
That is up from 55.1 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.42: 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 44.7, against 62.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.8 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and Geography.
Getting a place at Chestnut Grove Academy
For September 2026 entry, 298 families put Chestnut Grove Academy as their first choice and 1583 named it as one of their preferences, for 206 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 165 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Chestnut Grove Academy
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Chestnut Grove Academy are La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School (0.6 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 53.2); Ernest Bevin Academy (0.7 miles, Attainment 8 47.9); Ark Bolingbroke Academy (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 56.2); and The Elms Academy (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52.7).
Chestnut Grove Academy's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.
La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' SchoolErnest Bevin AcademyArk Bolingbroke AcademyThe Elms Academy
The trust
Chestnut Grove Academy is one of 11 schools run by Wandle Learning Trust, an academy trust.
Where pupils go next
Of the 172 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 93% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 15% to a further education college and 1% into work.
Of the 154 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 55% went on to university or other higher education, 3% to apprenticeships and 23% into work. 19% went to one of the most selective third of universities.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Balham Station, about 200 metres away (roughly a 3-minute walk).
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Hildreth Street Market, 220 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Chestnut Grove Academy stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. On income deprivation affecting children it is in the 7th decile, where the 1st is the most deprived. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Chestnut Grove Academy issued 50 suspensions, 3.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Chestnut Grove Academy are Trinity St Mary's CofE Primary School (0.1 miles), Holy Ghost Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles), Ravenstone Primary School (0.2 miles) and Alderbrook Primary School (0.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Trinity St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolHoly Ghost Catholic Primary SchoolRavenstone Primary SchoolAlderbrook Primary School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE destination measures; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Wandsworth published that the last place for 2025 entry went to a family 2,024 metres away (straight line). The cut-off moves every year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 3 years agoThis judgement is from January 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good and may be improving; its next inspection will be a full graded one.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its January 2019 inspection - down from Outstanding.
Rated Outstanding for
Leadership & management.
About
Chestnut Grove Academy is an 11–19 mixed partially selective secondary school with academy and Visual Arts College status in Balham, London, England. In January 2019, Chestnut Grove was assessed in an OFSTED inspection report as good, whilst the Sixth Form was assessed as outstanding.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
28.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from 0.56 to 0.42 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 58.2 to 57.1 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has declined from 69% to 65% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 57.1 | 64.6% |
| Disadvantaged(60) | - | 44.7 | 36.7% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(135) | - | 62.5 | 77% |
| Boys(105) | - | 54.4 | 66.7% |
| Girls(90) | - | 60.1 | 62.2% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(26) | - | 54.9 | 61.5% |
| Non mobile(191) | - | 57.1 | 64.9% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 3 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 172 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
0.15%
Exclusion rate
50
Suspensions
3.79%
Suspension rate
33 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,321 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Chestnut Grove Academy
Term dates
Chestnut Grove Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Wandsworth's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Tube / Metro / Tram
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Chestnut Grove Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Chestnut Grove Academy is in Wandsworth; for families living there:
Apply to Wandsworth for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 215
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 25
- Children hurt
- 10
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 215 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 25 serious and 189 slight.
10 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 6 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise.
36 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Wandsworth is 99 (the median across 113 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Chestnut Grove Academy
Will you get a place at Chestnut Grove Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Chestnut Grove Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Chestnut Grove Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Chestnut Grove Academy.
- Last distance offered for 2025 entry, from Wandsworth's own figures, and how your distance compares each year.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Chestnut Grove Academy for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Wandsworth got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
90%
Near capacity
1,316 pupils
1,462 places
146 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - London
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for London
Across Wandsworth council
Places available
2,095
Applications
2,164
Got 1st preference
60.4%
Got preferred school
90.2%
All secondary applications across Wandsworth council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
190
SEN Support
78
EHC Plans
20.2%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
1,327
Total Pupils
684
Boys
643
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
94
Teachers
14.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£57,365
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£8,096
Per pupil
£8801k
Total funding
£310k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.1%
Overall absence
16.3%
Persistent absence
1,047
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about Chestnut Grove Academy
What are GCSE results like at Chestnut Grove Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Chestnut Grove Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 57.1. 65% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Chestnut Grove Academy's Ofsted rating?
Chestnut Grove Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2019, it was rated Good.
How close to Chestnut Grove Academy do you need to live?
Wandsworth published for September 2025 entry that the last place offered at Chestnut Grove Academy on distance went to a family 2024 metres away. This is the authority's own figure for one year, not a fixed boundary - the cut-off moves with the number of applications, so treat it as a guide rather than a guarantee.
Is it hard to get a place at Chestnut Grove Academy?
Chestnut Grove Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 90% of its 1462 places.
How big are the classes at Chestnut Grove Academy?
Classes at Chestnut Grove Academy average 21.6 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Chestnut Grove Academy?
Chestnut Grove Academy has around 1327 pupils on roll. 29% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Chestnut Grove Academy?
7.1% of sessions were missed at Chestnut Grove Academy in 2024/25. 16.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Chestnut Grove Academy?
Apply through Wandsworth's coordinated admissions process, naming Chestnut Grove Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Chestnut Grove Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 215 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 25 serious and 189 slight. 10 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 6 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise. 36 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Wandsworth is 99 (the median across 113 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Chestnut Grove Academy?
Chestnut Grove Academy is at Chestnut Grove, Balham, London, SW12 8JZ.
Sources: Wandsworth admissions booklet; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)