Brindishe Lee School

About Brindishe Lee School

Brindishe Lee School, a state primary in Lewisham for children aged 4 to 11, holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023. The inspection report is a mixed bag: behaviour and attitudes were judged Outstanding, while the quality of education, early years provision, personal development, and leadership and management all came in at Good. This marks a change from the school's previous inspection in 2011, when it was rated Outstanding overall. On the academic front, the most telling metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. At 71 per cent, that figure sits comfortably above the Lewisham local authority average of 64 per cent. It also places Brindishe Lee 17th out of 59 primary schools in the borough, and in the top 50 per cent nationally. The school's ranking score of 71 reflects solid, above-average performance for its local area.

Digging into the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the picture is one of consistent strength in reading and maths, with writing a relative weak spot. In reading, 84 per cent of pupils met the expected standard and 49 per cent reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 108. Maths saw 76 per cent at the expected level and 39 per cent at the higher level, with an average score of 106. Writing was more of a challenge: 80 per cent hit the expected standard, but only 2 per cent reached the higher standard, and the combined reading, writing and maths higher standard figure was also just 2 per cent. The school does not have Progress 8 data available, so it is hard to say how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points, but the raw attainment figures are clearly above the local norm. For context, the nearest Outstanding-rated school is Brindishe Manor School, just 0.4 km away, and the top-performing primary in the borough is Haberdashers' Hatcham Free School.

Brindishe Lee is a relatively small school, with 199 pupils against a capacity of 270, and it is heavily oversubscribed. For the 2025/26 reception intake, there were 30 places available, 243 total applications and 27 first-preference applications, of which 22 received offers — an oversubscription ratio of 8.1 applicants per place. The school has a below-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 16.6 per cent. Facilities include a music room, art studios, a library, a sports hall, a gymnasium, an ICT suite, a forest school and even a chapel. Sports on offer are netball, football, gymnastics, cricket and cross country, and clubs include art, science and coding. The school supports children with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia), social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a solid, well-regarded local primary that suits families who value strong academic outcomes in reading and maths and a school with a clear sense of community, but who are prepared for a competitive admissions process.

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