The Palmer Catholic Academy
Aldborough Road South, Seven Kings, Ilford, IG3 8EU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE GOOD SHEPHERD CATHOLIC TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Downey
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brentwood
- Sponsor
- The Good Shepherd Catholic Trust
- Constituency
- Ilford South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,174
- Pupils on roll
- 1,132
- URN
- 137088
- Local authority
- Redbridge
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02085903808
About this school
The Palmer Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Ilford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,132 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Needs attention
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 187 | 184 | 192 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.8 | 50.4 | 48.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.72 +0.50 to +0.93 | +0.49 +0.27 to +0.71 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 72% | 54.3% | 47.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 82% | 75.5% | 74% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 47% | 41.3% | 40.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
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 The Palmer Catholic 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 | Redbridge average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54.8 | 50.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.4 | 52.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.8 | 50 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,163 |
| 2023/24 | 1,169 |
| 2024/25 | 1,155 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Palmer Catholic Academy compares
The Palmer Catholic Academy ranked 15th of 19 secondary schools in Redbridge for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 72% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.8 | 7.3% | 29.2% | 1,132 | — |
| Oaks Park High School | 53.5 | 6.7% | 22.5% | 1,783 | 1.0 miles |
| The Ursuline Academy Ilford | 56.1 | 9.1% | 24.4% | 743 | 1.1 miles |
| Mayfield School | 45 | 9.7% | 36.6% | 1,790 | 1.1 miles |
| Chadwell Heath Academy | 53.7 | 6.8% | 23.8% | 1,229 | 1.1 miles |
| Valentines High School | 59.3 | 6.1% | 25.1% | 1,357 | 1.4 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 29.19%
- English as an additional language
- 37.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.31%
- Persistent absence
- 24.14%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oaks Park High School1.0 miles
Secondary · Ilford
-
The Ursuline Academy Ilford1.1 miles
Secondary · Ilford
-
Mayfield School1.1 miles
Secondary · Dagenham
-
Chadwell Heath Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Romford
-
Valentines High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Ilford
Other schools in Ilford
The Palmer Catholic Academy ranks 9th of the 12 ranked secondary schools in Ilford.
- Beal High School Secondary
- Caterham High School Secondary
- Forest Academy Secondary
- Ilford County High School Secondary
- King Solomon High School Secondary
- Oaks Park High School Secondary
- The Ursuline Academy Ilford Secondary
- Valentines High School Secondary
- Al-Noor Voluntary Aided Muslim Primary School Primary
- Aldborough Primary School Primary
- Christchurch Primary School Primary
- Cleveland Road Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Palmer Catholic Academy teach?
- The Palmer Catholic Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ilford.
- Who is the headteacher of The Palmer Catholic Academy?
- The headteacher of The Palmer Catholic Academy is Mr Paul Downey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Palmer Catholic Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Palmer Catholic 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 Palmer Catholic Academy?
- The Palmer Catholic Academy has 1,132 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Palmer Catholic Academy full?
- The Palmer Catholic Academy has capacity for 1,174 pupils and 1,132 on roll (96%), 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 Palmer Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. The Palmer Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Brentwood.
- Is The Palmer Catholic Academy a selective school?
- No. The Palmer Catholic Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Palmer Catholic Academy?
- The Palmer Catholic Academy is part of THE GOOD SHEPHERD CATHOLIC TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Palmer Catholic Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 54.8 in 2022/23 and 48.8 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 Palmer Catholic Academy rank locally?
- The Palmer Catholic Academy ranked 15th of 19 secondary schools in Redbridge for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 72% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% 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 Palmer Catholic Academy's absence rate?
- The Palmer Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Palmer Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Palmer Catholic 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.