Forest Hill School
Dacres Road, Forest Hill, London, SE23 2XN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Headteacher
- Mr Michael Sullivan
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Lewisham West and East Dulwich
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,535
- Pupils on roll
- 1,080
- URN
- 100745
- Local authority
- Lewisham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02086999343
About this school
Forest Hill School is a boys' community secondary school in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,080 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 158 | 183 | 179 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.3 | 50.5 | 52.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.25 +0.02 to +0.48 | +0.30 +0.09 to +0.51 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 54.6% | 58.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 75.4% | 73.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 22% | 39.9% | 39.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Forest Hill School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lewisham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.3 | 40 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.5 | 39.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.3 | 40.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,094 |
| 2023/24 | 1,093 |
| 2024/25 | 1,072 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Forest Hill School compares
Forest Hill School ranked 2nd of 14 secondary schools in Lewisham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.3 | 7% | 30.7% | 1,080 | — |
| Sydenham School | 50.8 | 8.2% | 29% | 1,467 | 0.5 miles |
| Harris Girls Academy Bromley | 58.3 | 6.4% | 32% | 1,117 | 1.1 miles |
| Sedgehill Academy | 43.9 | 6.2% | 47.7% | 960 | 1.3 miles |
| Conisborough College | 37.6 | 9.1% | 48.8% | 703 | 1.6 miles |
| Kingsdale Foundation School | 59.9 | 6.7% | 19.4% | 2,550 | 1.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.66%
- English as an additional language
- 21.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.04%
- Persistent absence
- 18.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sydenham School0.5 miles
Secondary · London
-
Harris Girls Academy Bromley1.1 miles
Secondary · Beckenham
-
Sedgehill Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · London
-
Conisborough College1.6 miles
Secondary · London
-
Kingsdale Foundation School1.6 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Forest Hill School ranks 106th of the 258 ranked secondary schools in London.
- Acland Burghley School Secondary
- Ada Lovelace Church of England High School Secondary
- Addey and Stanhope School Secondary
- AIM Academy North London Secondary
- Alexandra Park School Secondary
- All Saints Catholic College Secondary
- All Saints Catholic High School Secondary
- Ark Acton Academy Secondary
- Ark All Saints Academy Secondary
- Ark Bolingbroke Academy Secondary
- Ark Burlington Danes Academy Secondary
- Ark Elvin Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Forest Hill School teach?
- Forest Hill School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Forest Hill School?
- The headteacher of Forest Hill School is Mr Michael Sullivan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Forest Hill School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Forest Hill School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Forest Hill School?
- Forest Hill School has 1,080 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Forest Hill School full?
- Forest Hill School has capacity for 1,535 pupils and 1,080 on roll (70%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Forest Hill School a faith school?
- No. Forest Hill School has no designated religious character.
- Is Forest Hill School a selective school?
- No. Forest Hill School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Forest Hill School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.3 in 2022/23 and 52.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Forest Hill School rank locally?
- Forest Hill School ranked 2nd of 14 secondary schools in Lewisham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Forest Hill School's absence rate?
- Forest Hill School's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Forest Hill School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Forest Hill School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.