Woolwich Polytechnic School
Hutchins Road, Thamesmead, London, SE28 8AT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Boys
- Trust
- POLYMAT
- Co Headteacher
- Mr Tom Lawrence
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- PolyMAT
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Erith and Thamesmead
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,820
- Pupils on roll
- 1,565
- URN
- 141163
- Local authority
- Greenwich
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02083107000
About this school
Woolwich Polytechnic School is a boys' secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,565 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 13 March 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 238 | 237 | 234 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.5 | 44.4 | 45.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.07 -0.25 to +0.12 | -0.04 -0.23 to +0.15 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% | 49.8% | 46.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 65.8% | 69.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 7% | 2.5% | 10.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
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 Woolwich Polytechnic 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 | Greenwich average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.5 | 35.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.4 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.2 | 37.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,584 |
| 2023/24 | 1,546 |
| 2024/25 | 1,592 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Woolwich Polytechnic School compares
Woolwich Polytechnic School ranked 11th of 16 secondary schools in Greenwich for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.2 | 6.8% | 36.6% | 1,565 | — |
| Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls | 47.5 | 7.6% | 41.3% | 1,120 | 0.0 miles |
| St Paul's Academy | 40.4 | 7.9% | 39.3% | 1,066 | 0.8 miles |
| Riverside School | 55.5 | 4% | 33.9% | 1,550 | 1.3 miles |
| Plumstead Manor School | 33.4 | 10.2% | 45.8% | 1,413 | 1.8 miles |
| London Design and Engineering UTC | 49.5 | 7.2% | 46.8% | 854 | 1.8 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)
- 36.59%
- English as an additional language
- 24.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.75%
- Persistent absence
- 20.16%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls0.0 miles
Secondary · Thamesmead
-
St Paul's Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · London
-
Riverside School1.3 miles
Secondary · Barking
-
Plumstead Manor School1.8 miles
Secondary · London
-
London Design and Engineering UTC1.8 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Woolwich Polytechnic School ranks 189th 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 Woolwich Polytechnic School teach?
- Woolwich Polytechnic School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the co headteacher of Woolwich Polytechnic School?
- The co headteacher of Woolwich Polytechnic School is Mr Tom Lawrence, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Woolwich Polytechnic School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Woolwich Polytechnic 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 Woolwich Polytechnic School?
- Woolwich Polytechnic School has 1,565 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Woolwich Polytechnic School full?
- Woolwich Polytechnic School has capacity for 1,820 pupils and 1,565 on roll (86%), 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 Woolwich Polytechnic School a faith school?
- No. Woolwich Polytechnic School has no designated religious character.
- Is Woolwich Polytechnic School a selective school?
- No. Woolwich Polytechnic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Woolwich Polytechnic School?
- Woolwich Polytechnic School is part of POLYMAT. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Woolwich Polytechnic School have?
- The schools register lists Woolwich Polytechnic School's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Woolwich Polytechnic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.5 in 2022/23 and 45.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Woolwich Polytechnic School rank locally?
- Woolwich Polytechnic School ranked 11th of 16 secondary schools in Greenwich for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Woolwich Polytechnic School's absence rate?
- Woolwich Polytechnic School's overall absence rate is 6.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Woolwich Polytechnic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Woolwich Polytechnic 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.