St Paul's Way Trust School
125 St Paul's Way, London, E3 4FT
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- UNIVERSITY SCHOOLS TRUST, EAST LONDON
- Headteacher
- Mrs Cath Smith
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- University Schools Trust
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Poplar and Limehouse
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,620
- Pupils on roll
- 1,866
- URN
- 143379
- Local authority
- Tower Hamlets
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02079871883
About this school
St Paul's Way Trust School is an all-through academy in London. It teaches children aged 4 to 18 and has 1,866 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- 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 | 58 | 55 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 66% | 64% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 11% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 73% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 67% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 78% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.70 | - | - |
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 | 235 | 235 | 236 |
| Attainment 8 score | 55.5 | 55.4 | 51.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.50 +0.32 to +0.68 | +0.54 +0.36 to +0.73 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 65% | 68.5% | 55.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 79% | 79.6% | 76.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 55% | 46.4% | 38.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.9 | 4.9 | 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 Paul's Way Trust 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 | 66% | 67.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 64% | 68.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 68.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Tower Hamlets average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55.5 | 44.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 55.4 | 44 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.8 | 43.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,868 |
| 2023/24 | 1,877 |
| 2024/25 | 1,884 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Paul's Way Trust School compares
St Paul's Way Trust School ranked 7th of 17 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.8 | 5.4% | 54.8% | 1,866 | — |
| Bobby Moore Academy | 45.6 | 11.1% | 49.8% | 971 | 1.3 miles |
| School 21 | 47.8 | 7.3% | 48.2% | 1,080 | 1.8 miles |
| Harris Academy Chobham | 49.5 | 6.4% | 45.9% | 2,047 | 2.2 miles |
| Buxton School | 45.2 | 7.2% | 40.1% | 1,065 | 3.1 miles |
| Ark Globe Academy | 48.4 | 7.2% | 65.6% | 1,272 | 3.3 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 54.8%
- English as an additional language
- 56.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.36%
- Persistent absence
- 11.01%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bobby Moore Academy1.3 miles
All-through · London
-
School 211.8 miles
All-through · Stratford
-
Harris Academy Chobham2.2 miles
All-through · London
-
Buxton School3.1 miles
All-through · London
-
Ark Globe Academy3.3 miles
All-through · London
Other schools in London
St Paul's Way Trust School ranks 671st of the 948 ranked primary schools in London, and St Paul's Way Trust School ranks 113th 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 Paul's Way Trust School teach?
- St Paul's Way Trust School teaches children aged 4 to 18. It is an all-through school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of St Paul's Way Trust School?
- The headteacher of St Paul's Way Trust School is Mrs Cath Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Paul's Way Trust School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Paul's Way Trust 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 St Paul's Way Trust School?
- St Paul's Way Trust School has 1,866 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 18.
- Is St Paul's Way Trust School full?
- St Paul's Way Trust School has capacity for 1,620 pupils and 1,866 on roll (115%), 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 St Paul's Way Trust School a faith school?
- No. St Paul's Way Trust School has no designated religious character.
- Is St Paul's Way Trust School a selective school?
- No. St Paul's Way Trust School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does St Paul's Way Trust School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Paul's Way Trust School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St Paul's Way Trust School?
- St Paul's Way Trust School is part of UNIVERSITY SCHOOLS TRUST, EAST LONDON. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St Paul's Way Trust School have?
- The schools register lists St Paul's Way Trust School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Paul's Way Trust School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 66% in 2022/23 and 66% 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 Paul's Way Trust School rank locally?
- St Paul's Way Trust School ranked 7th of 17 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% 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 Paul's Way Trust School's absence rate?
- St Paul's Way Trust School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Paul's Way Trust School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Paul's Way Trust 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 2 July 2026.