St Matthew Academy
St Joseph's Vale, London, SE3 0XX
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST BENEDICT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mr James Potter
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Sponsor
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Constituency
- Lewisham North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,063
- URN
- 135264
- Local authority
- Lewisham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02088536250
About this school
St Matthew Academy is a Roman Catholic all-through academy in London. It teaches children aged 4 to 16 and has 1,063 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 27 | 30 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 77% | 83% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 13% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 80% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 85% | 90% | 88% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 77% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 142 | 171 | 172 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.7 | 50.1 | 47.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.35 +0.10 to +0.61 | +0.57 +0.35 to +0.80 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 55.6% | 40.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 72.5% | 58.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 65% | 70.2% | 72.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.5 |
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 Matthew 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 | Lewisham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 77% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 83% | 64.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Lewisham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48.7 | 40 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.1 | 39.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.2 | 40.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,052 |
| 2023/24 | 1,066 |
| 2024/25 | 1,065 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Matthew Academy compares
St Matthew Academy ranked 9th of 14 secondary schools in Lewisham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 66% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.2 | 5.7% | 39.5% | 1,063 | — |
| Trinity Church of England School, Lewisham | 48.3 | 5.1% | 30.1% | 1,048 | 0.7 miles |
| Prendergast Vale School | 42.2 | 8.7% | 43.1% | 806 | 0.7 miles |
| Prendergast Ladywell School | 49.2 | 5.9% | 27.2% | 1,280 | 1.6 miles |
| Saint Mary Magdalene Church of England All Through School | 43.3 | 6.7% | 48% | 1,624 | 3.2 miles |
| St Paul's Way Trust School | 51.8 | 5.4% | 54.8% | 1,866 | 3.9 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)
- 39.53%
- English as an additional language
- 28.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.72%
- Persistent absence
- 16.45%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Trinity Church of England School, Lewisham0.7 miles
All-through · London
-
Prendergast Vale School0.7 miles
All-through · London
-
Prendergast Ladywell School1.6 miles
All-through · Lewisham
-
Saint Mary Magdalene Church of England All Through School3.2 miles
All-through · London
-
St Paul's Way Trust School3.9 miles
All-through · London
Other schools in London
St Matthew Academy ranks 208th of the 948 ranked primary schools in London, and St Matthew Academy ranks 167th of the 258 ranked secondary schools in London.
- Ark Globe Academy All-through
- Ark John Keats Academy All-through
- Ark King Solomon Academy All-through
- Bobby Moore Academy All-through
- Buxton School All-through
- Dunraven School All-through
- Edmonton County School All-through
- George Mitchell School All-through
- Harris Academy Chobham All-through
- Harris Academy Tottenham All-through
- Langdon Academy All-through
- Prendergast Vale School All-through
Common questions
- What year groups does St Matthew Academy teach?
- St Matthew Academy teaches children aged 4 to 16. It is an all-through school in London.
- Who is the principal of St Matthew Academy?
- The principal of St Matthew Academy is Mr James Potter, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Matthew Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Matthew 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 Matthew Academy?
- St Matthew Academy has 1,063 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 16.
- Is St Matthew Academy full?
- St Matthew Academy has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,063 on roll (64%), 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 Matthew Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Matthew Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Is St Matthew Academy a selective school?
- No. St Matthew Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does St Matthew Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Matthew Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St Matthew Academy?
- St Matthew 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 Matthew Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 83% 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 Matthew Academy rank locally?
- St Matthew Academy ranked 9th of 14 secondary schools in Lewisham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 66% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% 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 Matthew Academy's absence rate?
- St Matthew Academy's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Matthew Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Matthew 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.