Waterside Academy

About Waterside Academy

Waterside Academy is a mixed 11-16 state secondary in Hackney that currently serves 374 pupils against a capacity of 500, meaning it is running well below its physical limit. That spare capacity is not for want of demand: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 180 applications for just 46 places, an oversubscription ratio of 3.91, and made 32 offers to first-preference families. The school’s intake is notably disadvantaged — 60.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, more than double the national average for secondary schools (around 27%) and significantly above the Hackney average. This context matters because the school’s academic performance, which we’ll look at next, is all the more striking given the level of disadvantage it serves. The headteacher is Shuabur Rahman, and the school has been rated Good by Ofsted since its most recent graded inspection in 2022, a sharp improvement from the Inadequate rating it received in its previous inspection in 2019.

Academically, Waterside Academy is punching well above its weight. Its Progress 8 score of 1.04 is classified as ‘Well above average’ nationally, meaning pupils here make over a grade more progress per subject than similar students across the country. That places the school 3rd out of 16 secondary schools in Hackney, behind only Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy and Mossbourne Community Academy, and 70th nationally out of 3,141 schools — the top 2.2% in the country. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 48.2, and 67.7% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths. The English Progress 8 score is particularly strong at 1.34, with maths at 1.06 and EBacc subjects at 1.18. The EBacc entry rate is 57%, with 25.8% achieving the full EBacc at grade 4 or above. For context, the Hackney local authority average Progress 8 score is 0.52, so Waterside is performing at double that benchmark.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, science labs, art studios, music rooms, and a library, plus a sixth form centre (though the school itself only goes to 16). Sports provision covers athletics, basketball, rugby, gymnastics, and martial arts, among others, and extracurricular options include the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, science club, debate, coding, and choir. SEND support is well-documented, with provisions for autistic spectrum disorder, dyslexia, speech and language needs, and social, emotional and mental health difficulties, among others. Given its high Progress 8 score and strong oversubscription, this is a school that clearly works well for ambitious families, particularly those whose children may benefit from a setting that has demonstrated it can drive exceptional progress from a disadvantaged starting point. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is City of London Academy, Shoreditch Park, 0.9 km away, but Waterside’s own trajectory from Inadequate to Good in three years suggests a school on a strong upward path.

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