South Chingford Foundation School, London

Ofsted's report card from its 20 January 2026 inspection grades South Chingford Foundation School on 6 areas: 6 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Needs attention. "Pupils' progress through the curriculum is inconsistent."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Too many pupils do not attend school often enough."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Pupils study a broad and balanced curriculum."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "The school's work to remove barriers to learning, especially for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), is not consistently effective."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "Leaders have introduced a range of important actions to improve the school so that pupils benefit from a high quality of education."

Personal development and wellbeing - Needs attention. "The personal development programme is not delivered consistently well."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "• Leaders should ensure that they complete and evaluate effectively the first cycle of assessing and reviewing the progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities so that these pupils make secure progress from their starting points. • Leaders should ensure that teachers have the training and support that they require to adapt their teaching so that all pupils make secure progress through the curriculum. • Leaders should ensure that teachers have the expertise to check for gaps in pupils' foundational knowledge, for example in reading and numeracy, and address these effectively. • Leaders should keep a tight focus on their attendance strategy to ensure that pupils' attendance is at least in line with the national average so that all pupils benefit from all that the school has to offer. • Leaders should ensure that the personal development programme is resourced in a way that there is sufficient time to deliver it and that staff have the right training to implement it as intended. • Leaders should ensure that they implement swiftly the school's strategic development actions so that pupils achieve the best possible outcomes academically and personally".

In 2026, pupils at South Chingford Foundation School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.7 in Waltham Forest and 47 across England.

36% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 48% in Waltham Forest and 47% in England.

That is up from 32.8 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.79: pupils made well below 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 38.2, against 46.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 8.1 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 18 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Spanish, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 28 families put South Chingford Foundation School as their first choice and 141 named it as one of their preferences, for 64 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 South Chingford Foundation School are Walthamstow Academy (0.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52.9); Highams Park School (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.1); Frederick Bremer School (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.7); and Holy Family Catholic School (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 48.1).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than South Chingford Foundation School.

South Chingford Foundation School is one of 2 schools run by Chingford Academies Trust, an academy trust.

26 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about South Chingford Foundation School (as of April 2026): 65% would recommend the school, 62% say their child is happy there and 67% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (77%); the weakest, that they are kept well informed about progress (54%).

Of the 126 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 87% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 39% to a further education college.

40% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 52.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Asian (23%), Black (17%) and Mixed (14%).

In 2026, 53 pupils (9.7%) received SEN support and 31 (5.7%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Highams Park Station, about 870 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).

4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Rowden Park Gardens, 300 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 424 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Waltham Forest (663).

In 2024/25, South Chingford Foundation School issued 157 suspensions, 25.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to South Chingford Foundation School are Selwyn Primary School (0.3 miles), Chapel End Junior Academy (0.5 miles), Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre (0.5 miles) and Ainslie Wood Primary School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.