St Paul's Academy
Finchale Road, Abbey Wood, London, SE2 9PX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST BENEDICT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Anton Innocent
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Constituency
- Erith and Thamesmead
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,066
- URN
- 105135
- Local authority
- Greenwich
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02083113868
About this school
St Paul's Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,066 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. 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 225 | 234 | 238 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.8 | 42.5 | 40.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.04 -0.15 to +0.23 | -0.25 -0.45 to -0.06 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 38.5% | 26.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 57.7% | 50.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 43% | 46.6% | 51.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.4 |
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 St Paul's Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Greenwich average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.8 | 35.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.5 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.4 | 37.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,120 |
| 2023/24 | 1,120 |
| 2024/25 | 1,119 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Paul's Academy compares
St Paul's Academy ranked 14th of 16 secondary schools in Greenwich for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 40% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.4 | 7.9% | 39.3% | 1,066 | — |
| Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls | 47.5 | 7.6% | 41.3% | 1,120 | 0.7 miles |
| Woolwich Polytechnic School | 45.2 | 6.8% | 36.6% | 1,565 | 0.8 miles |
| Plumstead Manor School | 33.4 | 10.2% | 45.8% | 1,413 | 1.1 miles |
| Welling School | 34.7 | 12.2% | 34.9% | 1,084 | 1.8 miles |
| London Design and Engineering UTC | 49.5 | 7.2% | 46.8% | 854 | 2.0 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)
- 39.32%
- English as an additional language
- 27.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.91%
- Persistent absence
- 24.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls0.7 miles
Secondary · Thamesmead
-
Woolwich Polytechnic School0.8 miles
Secondary · London
-
Plumstead Manor School1.1 miles
Secondary · London
-
Welling School1.8 miles
Secondary · Welling
-
London Design and Engineering UTC2.0 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
St Paul's Academy ranks 235th 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 St Paul's Academy teach?
- St Paul's Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the principal of St Paul's Academy?
- The principal of St Paul's Academy is Mr Anton Innocent, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Paul's Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Paul's Academy, 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 St Paul's Academy?
- St Paul's Academy has 1,066 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Paul's Academy full?
- St Paul's Academy has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,066 on roll (89%), 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 St Paul's Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Paul's Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Is St Paul's Academy a selective school?
- No. St Paul's Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Paul's Academy?
- St Paul's Academy is part of ST BENEDICT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Paul's Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.8 in 2022/23 and 40.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Paul's Academy rank locally?
- St Paul's Academy ranked 14th of 16 secondary schools in Greenwich for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 40% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Paul's Academy's absence rate?
- St Paul's Academy's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Paul's Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Paul's Academy'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.