Deptford Green School

About Deptford Green School

Deptford Green School is a mixed, non-denominational secondary for 11 to 16 year olds in the London borough of Lewisham, where it sits tenth out of fifteen similar state schools by Progress 8 score. That puts it in the lower half of the local league table, some way behind the top three peers in the borough: St Matthew Academy, Prendergast School and Trinity Church of England School, Lewisham. The school is heavily oversubscribed — for 167 places in the 2025/26 intake, it received 588 applications, a ratio of 3.52 applicants per place, with 132 of those as first preferences. Headteacher Emma Thurston leads a school of 881 pupils, just shy of its 900 capacity, and over 43 per cent of students are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in 2022, rated it Good across the board — a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2018.

Academically, Deptford Green posts a mixed picture. Its Progress 8 score of 0.05 is broadly in line with the national average, though it sits slightly below the Lewisham local authority average of 0.11. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 44.6, and 53 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths — the basics measure. However, the EBacc entry rate is low at 27.1 per cent, and only 18.1 per cent of pupils entered the full EBacc and achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths. Breaking down Progress 8 by subject, English is a relative strength at +0.35, while maths lags at -0.24. The school’s national ranking by Progress 8 is 1,408 out of 3,141, placing it in the 45th percentile — squarely in the middle of the pack nationally, and in the 70th percentile within London.

The school offers a strong set of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, sports hall, playing fields and a library, plus a sixth form centre despite the school only going to Year 11. Sports on offer include hockey, football, rugby, tennis, gymnastics and dance, and there is a wide range of clubs from coding and science club to debate, drama, eco club and choir. For families with children who have additional needs, the SEND provision is extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and a resourced provision. Given its oversubscription and strong local demand, this is a school that suits families looking for an improving, inclusive secondary in Lewisham with solid facilities and a broad co-curricular offer, but who are realistic about its mid-table academic standing compared with the borough’s highest-performing peers.

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