The Norwood School, London
The Norwood School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 19 in London. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in February 2023. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 178th-highest of the 266 schools in London with published results, and 1,475th of 3,298 across England. It was 99% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2023)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
- Progress (2024)
- Average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Lambeth (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
The Norwood School in detail
The Norwood School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "Norwood's successes are demonstrated in our students' outstanding achievements. We are a child centred community and place at its heart positive relationships, exciting opportunities and an engaging curriculum. We provide our students with a rigorous academic foundation, alongside a rich education in the performing and visual arts."
Headteacher's welcome (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2026, pupils at The Norwood School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.5 in Lambeth and 47 across England.
46% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 46% in Lambeth and 47% in England.
That is down from 50.2 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.03: 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 36.8, against 52.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 16 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Art and Design and Geography.
Getting a place at The Norwood School
For September 2026 entry, 199 families put The Norwood School as their first choice and 851 named it as one of their preferences, for 174 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 75 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to The Norwood School are St Joseph's College (0.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44); Hillcrest (0.4 miles); Silburn Reid (0.5 miles); and Harris Academy Beulah Hill (0.7 miles, Attainment 8 49).
The Norwood School's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 2 schools.
St Joseph's CollegeHillcrestSilburn ReidHarris Academy Beulah Hill
Where pupils go next
Of the 170 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 91% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 24% to a further education college.
Of the 88 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 56% went on to university or other higher education, 2% to apprenticeships and 17% into work. 15% went to one of the most selective third of universities.
Who goes there
27% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (33%), Black (24%) and Mixed (19%).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is West Norwood Station, about 970 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Norwood School, 90 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Norwood School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 505 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Lambeth (1302).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, The Norwood School issued 24 suspensions, 2.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to The Norwood School are St Joseph's RC Infant School (under 0.1 miles), St Joseph's RC Junior School (0.1 miles), St Luke's Church of England Primary School (0.3 miles) and Crown Lane Primary School (0.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
St Joseph's RC Infant SchoolSt Joseph's RC Junior SchoolSt Luke's Church of England Primary SchoolCrown Lane Primary School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Sixth Form
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's February 2023 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
The school excels at creating an inclusive environment where all pupils, including those with special needs, can thrive through carefully planned teaching and strong behaviour support. Teachers work closely with pupils using regular checks on learning to help them succeed, and the school provides extensive enrichment activities including lunchtime performances, charity work, and competitive sports programmes. Parents can be confident their child will have access to expert reading support, high-quality careers guidance, and a curriculum that meaningfully connects learning to real-world issues.
Key Strengths
- Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum that builds pupils' knowledge progressively across subjects, including history and civil rights
- Strong focus on reading with expert support, regular assessment, and a trained phonics team to help pupils become fluent readers
- Excellent support for pupils with SEND, tailored teaching approaches, and teacher training on individual barriers to learning
- Positive behaviour culture with extensive support for pupils who need help regulating behaviour, resulting in rare disruptions and bullying
- Rich personal development programme including careers guidance, whole-school careers fairs, and high-quality enrichment in creative arts
Areas for Improvement
- Some inconsistency between leaders' ambitious curriculum thinking and actual classroom teaching delivery across subjects - not all teaching sharply focuses on ensuring pupils learn and remember key ideas
- Assessment routines in some subjects are less well developed, meaning teaching is not adapted as effectively to address misconceptions and knowledge gaps
- Leaders have not reviewed whether all pupils are accessing the full range of enrichment activities and personal development opportunities, so cannot ensure no pupils are missing out
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with a strong culture promoted by well-trained staff who follow clear procedures, make appropriate referrals to external agencies, and ensure pupils understand local safety risks.
Extracurricular Activities
Lunchtime live concerts and plays, basketball programme, bursary programme, charity work, enrichment activities in creative arts, whole-school careers fairs
The Norwood School is a secondary comprehensive in Lambeth that has built an environment encouraging pupils to celebrate their individuality and thrive. The school provides an ambitious curriculum supported by strong leadership and extensive enrichment opportunities.
About
The Norwood School is a co-educational community school at the south end of the London Borough of Lambeth, for girls and boys aged 11–18. The school is a specialist Performing and Visual Arts College.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
30.7%
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 remained stable at around 0.03 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 49.0 to 46.9 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 42% to 46% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 46.9 | 45.7% |
| Disadvantaged(65) | - | 36.8 | 26.2% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(110) | - | 52.8 | 57.3% |
| Boys(92) | - | 46.9 | 50% |
| Girls(83) | - | 46.8 | 41% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(56) | - | 49.7 | 50% |
| Non mobile(168) | - | 47.1 | 45.8% |
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) - 170 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
0
Permanent exclusions
0.00%
Exclusion rate
24
Suspensions
2.25%
Suspension rate
23 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,069 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Social & online
Keep up with The Norwood School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Norwood School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Norwood School is in Lambeth; for families living there:
- Lambeth's school travel policy: Home to school transport policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 68
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 14
- Children hurt
- 11
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 68 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 14 serious and 54 slight.
11 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 6 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise.
14 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 Lambeth is 142.5 (the median across 102 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 The Norwood School
Will you get a place at The Norwood School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against The Norwood School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for The Norwood School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to The Norwood School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Lambeth, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at The Norwood School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Lambeth 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
99%
Near capacity
1,077 pupils
1,091 places
14 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 Lambeth council
Places available
2,111
Applications
2,198
Got 1st preference
61.4%
Got preferred school
91.2%
All secondary applications across Lambeth council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(8)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
208
SEN Support
53
EHC Plans
24.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
1,076
Total Pupils
537
Boys
539
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
76
Teachers
14.2:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£65,622
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£9,673
Per pupil
£9049k
Total funding
£294k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
8.8%
Overall absence
23.7%
Persistent absence
921
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
The Norwood School
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about The Norwood School
What are GCSE results like at The Norwood School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at The Norwood School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 46.9. 46% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is The Norwood School's Ofsted rating?
The Norwood School was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2023.
What is the catchment area for The Norwood School?
No fixed boundary. When The Norwood School is oversubscribed, Lambeth allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at The Norwood School?
The Norwood School was close to full in 2025, at 99% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at The Norwood School?
Classes at The Norwood School average 22.6 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to The Norwood School?
The Norwood School has around 1076 pupils on roll. 31% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at The Norwood School?
8.8% of sessions were missed at The Norwood School in 2024/25. 23.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Norwood School?
Apply through Lambeth's coordinated admissions process, naming The Norwood School 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 The Norwood School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 68 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 14 serious and 54 slight. 11 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 6 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise. 14 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 Lambeth is 142.5 (the median across 102 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Norwood School?
The Norwood School is at Crown Dale, Lambeth, London, SE19 3NY.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)