Cleeve Park School

About Cleeve Park School

Cleeve Park School’s headline Progress 8 score of -0.19 sits below the Bexley local authority average of 0.03, placing it in the bottom half of the borough’s 17 secondary schools at rank 12. That gap is modest but meaningful — it means pupils here make slightly less academic progress than peers across Bexley as a whole. The school’s Attainment 8 score of 43.6 and EBacc average point score of 3.67 are both solidly mid-range, though only 10% of pupils entered the EBacc suite of subjects, well below the national trend. Where Cleeve Park really stands out is in its recent trajectory: Ofsted upgraded the school from Requires Improvement to Good across all categories in its February 2024 inspection, with leadership, behaviour, personal development and sixth-form provision all now rated Good. That’s a significant turnaround from the previous inspection in 2021, when every category was graded 3.

At GCSE, 62.4% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, which is a respectable benchmark for a school with 33% of pupils eligible for free school meals — well above the national average for similar intakes. The Progress 8 breakdown shows English is the weakest area at -0.31, while maths (-0.15) and EBacc subjects (-0.16) are closer to the national average. The school’s progress banding is officially ‘Average’, meaning it falls within the expected range nationally. At A-level, the picture is more mixed: the value-added score of -0.49 is below average, and the average points per entry of 20.97 equates to a D grade. Only 64 pupils sat A-levels, and none achieved AAB or higher in at least two facilitating subjects. The sixth form’s progress banding is rated ‘Below average’, which families considering post-16 options will want to weigh carefully.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 192 places in 2025/26, there were 689 applications, a ratio of 3.59 to one, with 140 first-preference offers made from 169 first-preference applications. That suggests strong local demand despite the middling headline scores. Facilities are generous for a state school, including a swimming pool, tennis courts, playing fields, science labs, music rooms and a sixth form centre. SEND provision is broad, covering nine categories including a resourced provision for autistic spectrum disorder, and the Parent View survey shows 86% of respondents agree or strongly agree that SEND children get the support they need. With 94% of parents saying they would recommend the school, Cleeve Park suits families who value a Good-rated, inclusive comprehensive with improving behaviour and a wide range of clubs — from DofE and Model UN to gardening and orchestra — even if academic outcomes lag the LA average.

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