Addey and Stanhope School

About Addey and Stanhope School

Addey and Stanhope School is a mixed, non-denominational secondary in Lewisham that runs exactly at capacity with 600 pupils on roll. Its intake stands out sharply against local and national averages: 49% of pupils qualify for free school meals, a figure that dwarfs the typical state secondary proportion and signals a community with significant socioeconomic need. Demand is intense — for 109 Year 7 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 422 applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.87. Of those, 103 families put it as their first preference, and 90 first-preference offers were made. That level of competition, especially from first-choice applicants, suggests the school holds strong local reputation despite serving a high-poverty catchment. The school does not have a sixth form, so pupils leave at 16, and it offers no nursery provision. Its religious character is listed as none, and the headteacher is Jan Shapiro.

Academically, the picture is mixed. In its most recent graded inspection (2018), Ofsted rated the school Good overall, with Good for leadership and management; an ungraded inspection in 2023 confirmed it remains Good. But the 2023/24 Progress 8 score of -0.38 is below average nationally, placing Addey and Stanhope 14th out of 15 secondary schools in Lewisham. That puts it in the bottom 50% nationally (76th percentile) and in the bottom 10% within London. The Attainment 8 score is 37.9, and only 29.1% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths (basics95Pct). The EBacc entry rate is low at 11.8%, and just 2.7% achieved the full EBacc at grade 5 or above. For context, the Lewisham local authority average Progress 8 is +0.11, so the school sits nearly half a grade per subject below the LA norm. The school's strongest Progress 8 sub-score is in English (-0.29), while maths (-0.45) and EBacc subjects (-0.42) are weaker.

Facilities are a real strength: the school has a swimming pool, theatre, sports hall, gymnasium, tennis courts, science labs, music rooms, and an ICT suite. Sports offered include rowing, basketball, cricket, martial arts, athletics, swimming, and dance, and there are clubs such as Model UN, book club, newspaper, science club, and eco club. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties (dyslexia), moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and a resourced provision. For families considering Addey and Stanhope, the key trade-off is clear: a school that serves a high-needs community with strong facilities and high demand, but whose academic outcomes trail the local average. It will suit parents who value inclusion, breadth of opportunity, and a genuinely comprehensive intake over top-tier exam results.

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