Connaught School for Girls

About Connaught School for Girls

Connaught School for Girls is a state secondary in Waltham Forest that is clearly in demand. For its 97 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 234 applications, making it oversubscribed with a ratio of 2.41 applicants per place. Of those, 69 were first-preference applications, and 69 first-preference offers were made. The school currently has 603 pupils on roll against a capacity of 632, so there is some headroom, but the oversubscription figures suggest it is a popular choice locally. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 43.4%, which is well above the national average and signals a diverse intake with significant socioeconomic need. The school is girls-only and non-denominational, with no sixth form, so pupils leave at 16. It is led by headteacher Alex Silk and was rated Good by Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in February 2025.

Academically, Connaught’s results present a mixed picture. Its Progress 8 score for the 2023/24 academic year was -0.18, which is below the Waltham Forest local authority average of -0.07 and places the school 11th out of 19 schools in the borough. Nationally, it ranks in the bottom 50% of schools by this measure, at the 62nd percentile. However, the breakdown shows variation by subject: Progress 8 in English was +0.36, comfortably above average, while maths was -0.59, a significant drag. The Attainment 8 score was 50.3, and 69.5% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, compared with 44.9% achieving a grade 5 or above. The EBacc entry rate was very high at 92.4%, though only 35.6% of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 4 or above. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, all key areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management — were judged Good.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a theatre, music rooms, science labs, a sports hall, tennis courts, and a library. Sports on offer include swimming, cricket, rugby, basketball, football, hockey, and rounders, and there are clubs such as drama, gardening, book club, choir, chess, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 67 respondents between September 2024 and September 2025 show that 25% would recommend the school. The strongest positive responses were around clubs and activities (79% agree or strongly agree) and safety (76% agree or strongly agree). However, only 26% agreed that the school has high expectations for their child, and communication with parents about learning and progress was a clear area of concern. This is a school that suits families who value a broad curriculum, high EBacc entry, and a strong extracurricular offer, but who may need to be proactive in engaging with the school around academic support and communication.

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