Haberdashers' Knights Academy

About Haberdashers' Knights Academy

Haberdashers' Knights Academy sits in the London borough of Lewisham, where it ranks 7th out of 15 secondary schools by Progress 8 score, placing it just above the middle of the local pack. The top three performers in the borough are St Matthew Academy, Prendergast School, and Trinity Church of England School, Lewisham, all of which post higher scores. Still, the school’s Progress 8 score of 0.18 is comfortably above the Lewisham average of 0.11, meaning pupils here make more progress than the typical student across the borough. The school is a mixed, non-religious state secondary for ages 11 to 18, led by headteacher Tesca Bennett. It is oversubscribed: for 2025/26, there were 350 applications for 151 places, with 99 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.32. That level of demand suggests it is a popular choice locally, even if it isn’t among the very top-ranked schools in the area.

Academically, the school’s most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2017 rated it Good overall, with Good for leadership and management and Good for sixth-form provision, while early years provision was judged Outstanding. An ungraded inspection in 2023 confirmed the school remains Good. At GCSE, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 46.9, and 68.3% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths. The EBacc average point score is 4.38, and 61.8% of pupils entered the EBacc suite of subjects. Progress 8 is positive across the board: English progress is 0.23, maths progress is 0.33, and EBacc progress is 0.34, though the open element is slightly negative at -0.11. At A-level, the picture is more mixed: the school’s value-added score is -0.42, which is rated below average, and the average points per entry is 24.69, equivalent to a D+. The best three A-levels average out at a D+ grade, and only 3.3% of entries achieved AAB or higher.

The school is well equipped with facilities including a library, sports hall, swimming pool, astro turf, tennis courts, music rooms, a sixth-form centre, and even a chapel. Sports on offer include football, athletics, swimming, gymnastics, and badminton, while clubs range from chess and debate to gardening, drama, and Model UN. The school has a wide-ranging SEND provision, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate to severe learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 45.3% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a diverse and disadvantaged intake. It is a good fit for families in Lewisham who want a secondary with strong GCSE progress, a busy extracurricular programme, and a sixth form, but who are realistic about A-level outcomes being more modest. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Bonus Pastor Catholic College, 1.3 km away, for those prioritising a top Ofsted grade.

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