The Elms Academy
Elms Road, Clapham, London, SW4 9ET
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Christian
- Trust
- UNITED LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Amy Welch
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- United Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Clapham and Brixton Hill
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 875
- Pupils on roll
- 865
- URN
- 134815
- Local authority
- Lambeth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02078194700
About this school
The Elms Academy is a Christian secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 865 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
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found the school has improved significantly.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 133 | 144 | 117 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.1 | 53.7 | 52.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.58 +0.32 to +0.84 | +0.91 +0.67 to +1.15 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 59.7% | 48.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 76.4% | 77.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 49% | 61.1% | 57.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.9 | 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 The Elms 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 | Lambeth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.1 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.7 | 36.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.8 | 37.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 754 |
| 2023/24 | 813 |
| 2024/25 | 836 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Elms Academy compares
The Elms Academy ranked 3rd of 15 secondary schools in Lambeth for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.8 | 6.7% | 56.6% | 865 | — |
| Harris Academy Clapham | 42.4 | 7.9% | 63% | 802 | 0.5 miles |
| La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School | 48.8 | 5.6% | 45.4% | 1,197 | 0.7 miles |
| Trinity Academy | 38.7 | 9.5% | 52.6% | 616 | 0.9 miles |
| Chestnut Grove Academy | 55.1 | 7.1% | 28.8% | 1,327 | 1.1 miles |
| Ark Bolingbroke Academy | 60.2 | 6.4% | 32.9% | 793 | 1.2 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report8 May 2025
- 4 February 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 56.57%
- English as an additional language
- 41.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.66%
- Persistent absence
- 17.97%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Harris Academy Clapham0.5 miles
Secondary · London
-
La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School0.7 miles
Secondary · London
-
Trinity Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · London
-
Chestnut Grove Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · London
-
Ark Bolingbroke Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
The Elms Academy ranks 98th 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 The Elms Academy teach?
- The Elms Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of The Elms Academy?
- The headteacher of The Elms Academy is Mrs Amy Welch, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Elms Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Elms 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 The Elms Academy?
- The Elms Academy has 865 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Elms Academy full?
- The Elms Academy has capacity for 875 pupils and 865 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 The Elms Academy a faith school?
- Yes. The Elms Academy is designated Christian.
- Is The Elms Academy a selective school?
- No. The Elms Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Elms Academy?
- The Elms Academy is part of UNITED LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Elms Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.1 in 2022/23 and 52.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Elms Academy rank locally?
- The Elms Academy ranked 3rd of 15 secondary schools in Lambeth for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Elms Academy's absence rate?
- The Elms Academy's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Elms Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Elms 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 1 July 2026.