Swanlea School
31 Brady Street, Whitechapel, London, E1 5DJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Kabir Miah
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Federation
- Weavers Federation
- Constituency
- Bethnal Green and Stepney
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,260
- Pupils on roll
- 1,253
- URN
- 100973
- Local authority
- Tower Hamlets
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02073753267
About this school
Swanlea School is a community secondary school in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,253 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Swanlea School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 208 | 205 | 207 |
| Attainment 8 score | 58.7 | 56.1 | 56.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +1.27 +1.07 to +1.46 | +0.81 +0.61 to +1.01 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 74% | 65.4% | 63.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 85% | 83.9% | 81.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 73% | 66.8% | 71.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.3 |
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 Swanlea 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 | 58.7 | 44.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 56.1 | 44 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 56.9 | 43.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,291 |
| 2023/24 | 1,304 |
| 2024/25 | 1,281 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Swanlea School compares
Swanlea School ranked 1st of 17 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 90% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56.9 | 4% | 54.3% | 1,253 | — |
| Wapping High School | 46.9 | 9.8% | 43.2% | 248 | 0.4 miles |
| London Enterprise Academy | 48 | 6.4% | 46% | 396 | 0.4 miles |
| Mulberry School for Girls | 55.2 | 5.3% | 51.3% | 1,634 | 0.5 miles |
| Oaklands School | 52.4 | 7.7% | 61.7% | 902 | 0.6 miles |
| Mulberry Academy Shoreditch | 45 | 6.7% | 67.3% | 1,457 | 0.6 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)
- 54.3%
- English as an additional language
- 28.3%
- Overall absence
- 3.98%
- Persistent absence
- 8.63%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wapping High School0.4 miles
Secondary · London
-
London Enterprise Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · London
-
Mulberry School for Girls0.5 miles
Secondary · London
-
Oaklands School0.6 miles
Secondary · London
-
Mulberry Academy Shoreditch0.6 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Swanlea School ranks 58th 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 ages does Swanlea School teach?
- Swanlea School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Swanlea School?
- The headteacher of Swanlea School is Mr Kabir Miah, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Swanlea School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Swanlea 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 many pupils are at Swanlea School?
- Swanlea School has 1,253 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Swanlea School full?
- Swanlea School has capacity for 1,260 pupils and 1,253 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Swanlea School a faith school?
- No. Swanlea School has no designated religious character.
- Is Swanlea School a selective school?
- No. Swanlea School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Swanlea School part of an academy trust?
- Swanlea School is part of the Weavers Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Swanlea School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 58.7 in 2022/23 and 56.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Swanlea School compare with other schools in Tower Hamlets?
- Swanlea School ranked 1st of 17 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 90% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Swanlea School's absence rate?
- Swanlea School's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Swanlea School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Swanlea 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.