Chelsea Academy

About Chelsea Academy

Chelsea Academy’s Progress 8 score of 0.23 is a solid result, but it sits below the Kensington and Chelsea local authority average of 0.4 for secondary schools. That gap means pupils here make less progress relative to their peers across the borough, though the score is still positive — students are leaving with better GCSE results than they arrived expecting. The school ranks 4th out of 6 state secondaries in the LA, putting it in the middle of the pack, and 998th nationally out of over 3,100 schools. Where it really shines is in maths: the Progress 8 maths score is 0.42, well above the overall figure and a clear strength. English progress, at 0.08, is more modest, and the open element (subjects outside the EBacc) sits at 0.1. The EBacc entry rate is 25.6%, which is relatively low, and only 15.3% of pupils achieved the EBacc at a grade 4 or above. Still, the basics measure — 73.9% achieving a grade 4 in both English and maths — is a strong headline for a school with nearly half its pupils eligible for free school meals.

At A-level, the picture is more mixed. The school’s value-added score is -0.21, meaning students typically leave with slightly lower grades than their prior attainment would predict, and the progress banding is rated ‘Below average’. The average points per entry is 32.56, equivalent to a C+ grade, and the best three A-levels average out at a C+ as well. Only 10.5% of entries achieved AAB or higher. The sixth form is a sizeable one, with 143 pupils in the data, and it’s rated Good by Ofsted. At GCSE level, the Attainment 8 score of 50.1 is decent — roughly a strong pass per subject — and the EBacc APS of 4.36 suggests a solid academic core. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 rated it Good across all categories, including leadership, behaviour, and personal development. That’s a step down from its previous Outstanding rating in 2012, but the report notes the school has maintained strong standards since then.

Chelsea Academy is a Church of England secondary in the heart of Kensington and Chelsea, with a sixth form and a comprehensive range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, and a chapel. It’s heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26, there were 589 applications for 174 places, with 124 first-preference applications and only 108 offers made to first-preference families — an oversubscription ratio of 3.39. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, and a resourced provision. Clubs include DofE, Young Enterprise, coding, and debate, and sports range from rugby to tennis. With 46.7% of pupils on free school meals, this is a genuinely comprehensive intake, and the school’s results — particularly in maths — show it’s adding real value for many of its students. It’s a good fit for families who want a diverse, well-equipped school with strong GCSE outcomes and a clear focus on inclusion, though those prioritising top-tier A-level results might look elsewhere.

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