Leigh Academy Blackheath
Old Dover Road, Blackheath, London, SE3 8SY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LEIGH ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Emma Smith
- Sponsor
- Leigh Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Eltham and Chislehurst
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,150
- Pupils on roll
- 1,060
- URN
- 145895
- Local authority
- Greenwich
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02081040888
About this school
Leigh Academy Blackheath is a secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,060 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 178 | 177 | 177 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.6 | 54.0 | 55.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.23 -0.44 to -0.01 | +0.22 0.00 to +0.43 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 69.5% | 60.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 81.9% | 79.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 87% | 91.5% | 88.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
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 Leigh Academy Blackheath 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 | 47.6 | 35.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55 | 37.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 895 |
| 2023/24 | 959 |
| 2024/25 | 1,035 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Leigh Academy Blackheath compares
Leigh Academy Blackheath ranked 4th of 16 secondary schools in Greenwich for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55 | 6% | 28.8% | 1,060 | — |
| Leigh Academy Halley | 48.4 | 6.6% | 42.9% | 987 | 0.8 miles |
| The John Roan School | 44.3 | 8.3% | 41.8% | 1,112 | 0.8 miles |
| Thomas Tallis School | 45.6 | 10% | 35.1% | 2,092 | 0.8 miles |
| Ark Greenwich Free School | 68.2 | 5.2% | 40.1% | 615 | 1.1 miles |
| Royal Greenwich Trust School | 37.4 | 9.4% | 53.3% | 871 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 28.75%
- English as an additional language
- 16.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.01%
- Persistent absence
- 14.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Leigh Academy Halley0.8 miles
Secondary · London
-
The John Roan School0.8 miles
Secondary · London
-
Thomas Tallis School0.8 miles
Secondary · London
-
Ark Greenwich Free School1.1 miles
Secondary · London
-
Royal Greenwich Trust School1.3 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Leigh Academy Blackheath ranks 77th 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 Leigh Academy Blackheath teach?
- Leigh Academy Blackheath teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Leigh Academy Blackheath?
- The headteacher of Leigh Academy Blackheath is Mrs Emma Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Leigh Academy Blackheath last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Leigh Academy Blackheath, 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 Leigh Academy Blackheath?
- Leigh Academy Blackheath has 1,060 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Leigh Academy Blackheath full?
- Leigh Academy Blackheath has capacity for 1,150 pupils and 1,060 on roll (92%), 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 Leigh Academy Blackheath a faith school?
- No. Leigh Academy Blackheath has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Leigh Academy Blackheath?
- Leigh Academy Blackheath is part of LEIGH ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Leigh Academy Blackheath's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.6 in 2022/23 and 55 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Leigh Academy Blackheath rank locally?
- Leigh Academy Blackheath ranked 4th of 16 secondary schools in Greenwich for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Leigh Academy Blackheath's absence rate?
- Leigh Academy Blackheath's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Leigh Academy Blackheath's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Leigh Academy Blackheath'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 10 July 2026.