Wapping High School
153 Commercial Road, London, E1 2DA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE WAPPING AND SHADWELL SECONDARY EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Tom Raw
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Bethnal Green and Stepney
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 248
- URN
- 138202
- Local authority
- Tower Hamlets
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02035973671
About this school
Wapping High School is a secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 248 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- 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 | 68 | 81 | 65 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.9 | 46.9 | 46.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.37 -0.80 to +0.06 | +0.04 -0.32 to +0.40 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 34% | 55.6% | 44.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 69.1% | 70.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 32% | 16% | 50.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
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 Wapping High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Tower Hamlets average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.9 | 44.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.9 | 44 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.9 | 43.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 336 |
| 2023/24 | 335 |
| 2024/25 | 294 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Wapping High School compares
Wapping High School ranked 12th of 17 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.9 | 9.8% | 43.2% | 248 | — |
| Mulberry School for Girls | 55.2 | 5.3% | 51.3% | 1,634 | 0.1 miles |
| London Enterprise Academy | 48 | 6.4% | 46% | 396 | 0.2 miles |
| Swanlea School | 56.9 | 4% | 54.3% | 1,253 | 0.4 miles |
| Bishop Challoner Catholic School | 44.6 | 8.8% | 56.7% | 867 | 0.4 miles |
| Mulberry Academy London Dock | — | 5.3% | 40.9% | 304 | 0.5 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)
- 43.2%
- English as an additional language
- 55.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.81%
- Persistent absence
- 34.53%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Mulberry School for Girls0.1 miles
Secondary · London
-
London Enterprise Academy0.2 miles
Secondary · London
-
Swanlea School0.4 miles
Secondary · London
-
Bishop Challoner Catholic School0.4 miles
Secondary · London
-
Mulberry Academy London Dock0.5 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Wapping High School ranks 171st 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 Wapping High School teach?
- Wapping High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Wapping High School?
- The headteacher of Wapping High School is Mr Tom Raw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Wapping High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Wapping High School, 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 Wapping High School?
- Wapping High School has 248 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Wapping High School full?
- Wapping High School has capacity for 420 pupils and 248 on roll (59%), 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 Wapping High School a faith school?
- No. Wapping High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Wapping High School a selective school?
- No. Wapping High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Wapping High School?
- Wapping High School is part of THE WAPPING AND SHADWELL SECONDARY EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Wapping High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.9 in 2022/23 and 46.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Wapping High School rank locally?
- Wapping High School ranked 12th of 17 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Wapping High School's absence rate?
- Wapping High School's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Wapping High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Wapping High School'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.