Bow School
44 Twelvetrees Crescent, Bow, London, E3 3QW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr Danny Lye
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Poplar and Limehouse
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,126
- URN
- 100965
- Local authority
- Tower Hamlets
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02075365525
About this school
Bow School is a community secondary school in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,126 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 13 September 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 223 | 233 | 220 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.7 | 43.4 | 43.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.12 -0.32 to +0.09 | -0.39 -0.58 to -0.20 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 37.3% | 33.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 52.4% | 60.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 35% | 36.5% | 38.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
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 Bow 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 | Tower Hamlets average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.7 | 44.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.4 | 44 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.2 | 43.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,264 |
| 2023/24 | 1,267 |
| 2024/25 | 1,173 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bow School compares
Bow School ranked 16th of 17 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.2 | 6.9% | 57.5% | 1,126 | — |
| Harris Science Academy East London | 56.9 | 6.7% | 53.2% | 513 | 0.3 miles |
| Langdon Park Community School | 43.5 | 7.9% | 64.2% | 1,055 | 0.6 miles |
| Eastlea Community School | 41.6 | 9.5% | 56.9% | 593 | 0.8 miles |
| Central Foundation Girls' School | 54.3 | 7.1% | 56.5% | 1,526 | 0.9 miles |
| Mulberry UTC | 30.3 | 16.4% | 62.7% | 536 | 1.1 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)
- 57.48%
- English as an additional language
- 67.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.92%
- Persistent absence
- 18.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Harris Science Academy East London0.3 miles
Secondary · London
-
Langdon Park Community School0.6 miles
Secondary · London
-
Eastlea Community School0.8 miles
Secondary · London
-
Central Foundation Girls' School0.9 miles
Secondary · London
-
Mulberry UTC1.1 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Bow School ranks 215th 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 Bow School teach?
- Bow School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Bow School?
- The executive headteacher of Bow School is Mr Danny Lye, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bow School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bow 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 Bow School?
- Bow School has 1,126 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Bow School full?
- Bow School has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,126 on roll (83%), 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 Bow School a faith school?
- No. Bow School has no designated religious character.
- Is Bow School a selective school?
- No. Bow School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Bow School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.7 in 2022/23 and 43.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bow School rank locally?
- Bow School ranked 16th of 17 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bow School's absence rate?
- Bow School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bow School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bow 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.