Deptford Green School, London

Ofsted's report card from its 23 June 2026 inspection grades Deptford Green School on 6 areas: 1 strong standard and 5 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Leaders have established a very high culture of attendance, underpinned by clear expectations that staff, pupils, and families understand well."

Achievement - Expected standard. "Overall, pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages, and leaders have sustained this performance over time."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders have designed an ambitious, broad, and well-sequenced curriculum for all pupils."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders identify pupils who face barriers to learning or challenges to their wellbeing quickly and accurately through assessment and regular review."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of the school's context and the needs of its pupils."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have designed a well-planned and comprehensive personal development programme that supports pupils' wider growth and prepares them well for life beyond school."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should strengthen the consistency with which adaptations are implemented so that barriers to learning are removed effectively and all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve highly"; "Leaders should continue to strengthen the consistency of teaching across all subjects so that pupils develop secure knowledge across the curriculum"; "Leaders should continue to refine their evaluation of the school's provision so that they can identify more precisely where further improvements will have the greatest impact for different groups of pupils".

In its own words: "At Deptford Green, high standards underpin all that we do, and the strength of our alumni and the ambitions of our students are a testament to this - impressive career pathways, high aspirations and notable destinations: it is our intent that every student in our care achieves their own version of success."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Step into Deptford Green and you'll instantly feel the vibrant pulse of a school where imagination takes flight. More than just a place of learning, we're a community where creativity ignites every corner of the curriculum and the arts aren't just taught - they're lived."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, tennis, dance, drama, orchestra, STEM, gardening and Duke of Edinburgh.

On phones, the school says: "Mobile Phone Policy We understand that pupils will have their mobile devices with them in school but they must not be seen or heard throughout the day."

In 2026, pupils at Deptford Green School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 48.4 in Lewisham and 47 across England.

38% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Lewisham and 47% in England.

That is down from 47.7 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.05: pupils made about 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 36.5, against 48 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Art and Design.

For September 2026 entry, 150 families put Deptford Green School as their first choice and 550 named it as one of their preferences, for 168 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 13 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Deptford Green School are Addey and Stanhope School (0.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.6); Haberdashers' Hatcham College (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.3); The St Thomas the Apostle College (1 mile, Outstanding, Attainment 8 61.8); and Prendergast Vale School (1.3 miles, Attainment 8 40.2).

Deptford Green School's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

Of the 166 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 89% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 32% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

45.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 28.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Black (30%), Mixed (24%) and White British (20%).

In 2026, 48 pupils (5.4%) received SEN support and 55 (6.2%) 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 autism.

Deptford Green School has a resourced provision for autism: 20 places, 12 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is New Cross ELL Rail Station, about 360 metres away (roughly a 5-minute walk).

12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Edward Street, 40 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Deptford Green School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Deptford Green School issued 76 suspensions, 8.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Deptford Green School are Childeric Primary School (0.1 miles), St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School (0.3 miles), Grinling Gibbons Primary School (0.4 miles) and Haberdashers' Hatcham Primary (0.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.