Community school

Willowfield School

Mixed · ages 11–16 · no sixth formWaltham Forest, London · London E17 6NDSchool website
Pupils on roll
1,035of 1,050 places
Free school meals
34.6%
Year 11 cohort 2025
175
Ofsted
Report card, 20 January 2026Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Expected standardAchievement Expected standardAttendance and behaviour Expected standardPersonal development and wellbeing Expected standardInclusion Expected standardLeadership and governance Expected standardPost-16 provision Not applicableSafeguarding Met
What the data says

Willowfield School has no sixth form. Of the 171 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 41% moved to a sixth form college, 28% to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.

Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 41% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.

Sociology is unusually popular at GCSE: 33% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.

GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 46.1 against 46.1 across England and 45.3 in Waltham Forest, with 55% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Waltham Forest and England.

Willowfield School
Waltham Forest
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureWillowfield SchoolWaltham ForestEngland
Pupils in the cohort1712,805607,348
Any sustained destination94%93%92%
Stayed in education93%92%86%
— school sixth form23%35%34%
— sixth form college41%28%13%
— further education college28%26%37%
— other education1%3%2%
Apprenticeship0%1%3%
Employment1%1%3%
No sustained destination4%4%6%
Destination unknown2%3%3%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureWillowfield SchoolWaltham ForestEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)46.145.346.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths55%46%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths71%63%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects34%43%41%
EBacc average point score4.064.044.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort31%33%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils40.538.434.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils48.648.750.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language29%39%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
English Language175100%89%21%20%70%
Mathematics175100%88%25%22%75%
English Literature17499%86%20%21%81%
Combined Science16997%65%11%9%60%
History11767%41%10%26%53%
Geography6537%41%17%25%60%
Religious Studies6235%31%31%32%77%
Sociology5833%4%19%21%67%
Media Studies5431%4%4%20%41%
Computer Science4827%13%10%30%58%
Spanish3118%19%32%27%77%
French2816%18%32%29%79%
Physical Education2414%11%0%24%46%
Astronomy2414%0%8%29%46%
3D Design2313%2%4%16%57%
Photography2112%6%5%19%43%
Art and Design1911%7%5%24%68%
Textiles1911%2%0%27%42%
Drama169%7%6%27%44%
Music95%5%11%33%56%
Biology42%23%45%
Chemistry42%23%47%
Physics42%23%46%
Polish32%1%84%
Italian11%0%53%
Chinese11%1%75%
Turkish11%0%71%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Small Business Management28
Sports Studies20
Additional Mathematics FSMQ11

Other secondary schools in Waltham Forest

Buxton School

Foundation school · 1,065 pupils

85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.2

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.