Forest Academy

About Forest Academy

Forest Academy, a mixed state secondary in Redbridge for pupils aged 11 to 16, earned a Good rating across all five categories in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The school’s headline academic metric is its Progress 8 score of 0.11, which means pupils achieve slightly better than the national average, adding a small but positive amount of value to their learning between Key Stage 2 and GCSEs. However, this score sits well below the Redbridge local authority average of 0.59, placing Forest Academy 16th out of 20 similar schools in the borough. The school’s Attainment 8 score of 44.3 reflects a solid set of GCSE results, with 57.1% of pupils achieving a grade 4 or above in both English and maths, and 42.9% reaching the higher grade 5 threshold.

Breaking down the Progress 8 data, Forest Academy shows particular strength in mathematics, where its progress score of 0.32 is notably above the national average, and in the EBacc subjects, where progress reaches 0.25. English progress is also positive at 0.16, while the open element of the curriculum, which includes non-EBacc qualifications, drags the overall figure down with a score of -0.22. The school enters a high proportion of pupils for the EBacc — 81.2% — though only 23.3% achieve a grade 5 or above in that combination. Nationally, Forest Academy ranks 1,289th out of 3,141 schools on Progress 8, placing it in the top 41% of schools across England. In London, it sits 325th out of 487 schools, and in Redbridge it ranks 15th out of 16, with a percentile of 93.75 within the local authority.

The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year, receiving 214 applications for 109 places, with 83 first-preference offers made. It offers a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool, astro turf, theatre, music rooms, and science labs, alongside sports such as football, hockey, rugby, and dance. Clubs include coding, debate, Model UN, and an eco club. Forest Academy provides support for a broad spectrum of special educational needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and social, emotional and mental health needs, and it operates a resourced provision. With no sixth form, pupils typically move on elsewhere after Year 11. This school suits families who want a solid, Good-rated secondary with strong maths outcomes and a wide extracurricular offer, but who are aware that its academic performance, while positive, is less competitive than many other Redbridge secondaries.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Forest Academy

Helpful Guides for Parents