Harris Academy Falconwood
The Green, Welling, DA16 2PE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HARRIS FEDERATION
- Principal
- Mr Darren Pearce
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Harris Federation
- Constituency
- Old Bexley and Sidcup
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,150
- Pupils on roll
- 1,295
- URN
- 135677
- Local authority
- Bexley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02083044916
About this school
Harris Academy Falconwood is a secondary academy in Welling. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,295 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 | 192 | 198 | 200 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.7 | 45.8 | 47.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.18 -0.02 to +0.39 | -0.02 -0.22 to +0.18 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 41.4% | 50% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 63.6% | 73.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 60% | 60.1% | 43.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
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 Harris Academy Falconwood has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bexley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.7 | 44 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.8 | 44.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.3 | 42 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,290 |
| 2023/24 | 1,301 |
| 2024/25 | 1,284 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Harris Academy Falconwood compares
Harris Academy Falconwood ranked 8th of 16 secondary schools in Bexley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.3 | 6.4% | 19.7% | 1,295 | — |
| Leigh Stationers' Academy | 52.7 | 6.1% | 20.3% | 1,764 | 0.7 miles |
| Bexley Grammar School | 74.7 | 5% | 4.2% | 1,504 | 0.8 miles |
| Blackfen School for Girls | 44.1 | 9.8% | 19.4% | 1,324 | 1.2 miles |
| Welling School | 34.7 | 12.2% | 34.9% | 1,084 | 1.3 miles |
| St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School | 60.6 | 4.6% | 16.7% | 637 | 1.3 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 report26 March 2025
- 16 October 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.7%
- English as an additional language
- 16.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.4%
- Persistent absence
- 15.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Leigh Stationers' Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · London
-
Bexley Grammar School0.8 miles
Secondary · Welling
-
Blackfen School for Girls1.2 miles
Secondary · Sidcup
-
Welling School1.3 miles
Secondary · Welling
-
St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School1.3 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in Welling
- Bexley Grammar School Secondary
- Welling School Secondary
- Bishop Ridley Church of England VA Primary School Primary
- Danson Primary School Primary
- East Wickham Primary Academy Primary
- Foster's Primary School Primary
- Hillsgrove Primary School Primary
- Hook Lane Primary School Primary
- Leigh Stationers' Primary Academy Primary
- St Michael's East Wickham Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Stephen's Catholic Primary School Primary
- ADO River Valley School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Harris Academy Falconwood teach?
- Harris Academy Falconwood teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Welling.
- Who is the principal of Harris Academy Falconwood?
- The principal of Harris Academy Falconwood is Mr Darren Pearce, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Harris Academy Falconwood last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harris Academy Falconwood, 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 Harris Academy Falconwood?
- Harris Academy Falconwood has 1,295 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Harris Academy Falconwood full?
- Harris Academy Falconwood has capacity for 1,150 pupils and 1,295 on roll (113%), so it is at or above 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 Harris Academy Falconwood a faith school?
- No. Harris Academy Falconwood has no designated religious character.
- Is Harris Academy Falconwood a selective school?
- No. Harris Academy Falconwood is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Harris Academy Falconwood?
- Harris Academy Falconwood is part of HARRIS FEDERATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Harris Academy Falconwood's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.7 in 2022/23 and 47.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Harris Academy Falconwood rank locally?
- Harris Academy Falconwood ranked 8th of 16 secondary schools in Bexley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Harris Academy Falconwood's absence rate?
- Harris Academy Falconwood's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harris Academy Falconwood's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harris Academy Falconwood'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.