Find the best primary schools in Southwark. Compare Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and parent reviews.
Southwark has 69 primary schools, across 2 council areas. Most state schools here offer places by distance from home once children in care and siblings of current pupils have been admitted, so how close you live decides your chances at any school with more applicants than places. Some councils draw a fixed catchment boundary instead, and the distance at which the last place went changes every year. Of the 69, 22 are faith schools that can put children of their faith first, so distance counts for less there.
Use the distance checker to measure your home's straight-line distance to any Southwark primary school, and each school's page for its Ofsted report, results and admissions details. Check your distance to a school or try the admissions calculator.
| School | Type | Our rating | Council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boutcher Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 5.0 / 5 | Southwark |
| Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, the Borough | Roman Catholic | 4.9 / 5 | Southwark |
| Dulwich Village Church of England Infants' School | Church of England | 4.9 / 5 | Southwark |
| Dulwich Hamlet Junior School | Mixed | 4.8 / 5 | Southwark |
| Charles Dickens Primary School | Mixed | 4.8 / 5 | Southwark |
| The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overie | Church of England | 4.8 / 5 | Southwark |
There are 69 primary schools in Southwark. Of those, 1 is an all-through school, teaching both primary and secondary years.
Apply by 15 January for a Reception place starting that September. Children start Reception in the September after their fourth birthday. You apply to the council where you live, even if the school is in another council's area, and can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference. Offers are sent on 16 April, or the next working day.
Of the 69 primary schools in Southwark, 22 have a religious character: 11 Church of England and 11 Roman Catholic. When a faith school has more applicants than places, it can give priority to children of its faith. Many ask for a supplementary form, sometimes signed by a religious leader, so read the school's admissions policy before you apply.
On our star rating, the highest rated are Boutcher Church of England Primary School (5.0), Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, the Borough (4.9), Dulwich Village Church of England Infants' School (4.9), Dulwich Hamlet Junior School (4.8) and Charles Dickens Primary School (4.8). The rating is our own, out of 5. It combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and SATs results, with the parent survey carrying the most weight. Of the 69 schools here, 66 have enough published data for a rating.
| Redriff Primary, City of London Academy |
| Mixed |
| 4.7 / 5 |
| Southwark |
| Bessemer Grange Primary School | Mixed | 4.7 / 5 | Southwark |
| St John's Roman Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 4.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| The Belham Primary School | Mixed | 4.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| Judith Kerr Primary School | Mixed | 4.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| Phoenix Primary School | Mixed | 4.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| Harris Primary Academy East Dulwich | Mixed | 4.5 / 5 | Southwark |
| St John's and St Clement's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 4.5 / 5 | Southwark |
| Angel Oak Academy | Mixed | 4.5 / 5 | Southwark |
| Heber Primary School | Mixed | 4.5 / 5 | Southwark |
| Crampton Primary | Mixed | 4.4 / 5 | Southwark |
| Lyndhurst Primary School | Mixed | 4.4 / 5 | Southwark |
| John Ruskin Primary School and Language Classes | Mixed | 4.3 / 5 | Southwark |
| St Anthony's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 4.3 / 5 | Southwark |
| Albion Primary School | Mixed | 4.2 / 5 | Southwark |
| Snowsfields Primary School | Mixed | 4.2 / 5 | Southwark |
| Brunswick Park Primary School | Mixed | 4.1 / 5 | Southwark |
| Ivydale Primary School | Mixed | 4.1 / 5 | Southwark |
| Riverside Primary School | Mixed | 4.1 / 5 | Southwark |
| Southwark Park Primary School | Mixed | 4.1 / 5 | Southwark |
| Victory Primary School | Mixed | 4.0 / 5 | Southwark |
| Alfred Salter Primary School | Mixed | 4.0 / 5 | Southwark |
| Bellenden Primary School | Mixed | 4.0 / 5 | Southwark |
| St James the Great Roman Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 4.0 / 5 | Southwark |
| Surrey Square Primary School | Mixed | 4.0 / 5 | Southwark |
| Friars Primary Foundation School | Mixed | 3.9 / 5 | Southwark |
| Goodrich Community Primary School | Mixed | 3.9 / 5 | Southwark |
| Harris Primary Academy Peckham Park | Mixed | 3.9 / 5 | Southwark |
| English Martyrs' Roman Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 3.9 / 5 | Southwark |
| Hollydale Primary School | Mixed | 3.8 / 5 | Southwark |
| Rotherhithe Primary School | Mixed | 3.8 / 5 | Southwark |
| Dulwich Wood Primary School | Mixed | 3.8 / 5 | Southwark |
| St Peter's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 3.8 / 5 | Southwark |
| Ark Globe Academy | all-through | 3.8 / 5 | Southwark |
| Bird In Bush School | Mixed | 3.8 / 5 | Southwark |
| Paxton Primary School | Mixed | 3.8 / 5 | Lambeth |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 3.7 / 5 | Southwark |
| St James' Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 3.7 / 5 | Southwark |
| Keyworth Primary School | Mixed | 3.7 / 5 | Southwark |
| St John the Divine Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 3.7 / 5 | Lambeth |
| Grange Primary School | Mixed | 3.7 / 5 | Southwark |
| St Paul's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 3.7 / 5 | Southwark |
| Galleywall Primary, City of London Academy | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| John Donne Primary School | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| Michael Faraday School | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| Tower Bridge Primary School | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| Ilderton Primary School | Mixed | 3.5 / 5 | Southwark |
| St George's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 3.5 / 5 | Southwark |
| Crawford Primary School | Mixed | 3.4 / 5 | Southwark |
| St Joseph's Catholic Junior School | Roman Catholic | 3.3 / 5 | Southwark |
| Goose Green Primary and Nursery School | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 | Southwark |
| Rye Oak Primary School | Mixed | 3.1 / 5 | Southwark |
| Grove Primary School | Mixed | 3.0 / 5 | Southwark |
| John Keats Primary School | Mixed | 3.0 / 5 | Southwark |
| Robert Browning Primary School | Mixed | 3.0 / 5 | Southwark |
| Peter Hills with St Mary's and St Paul's CofE Primary School | Church of England | 2.7 / 5 | Southwark |
| Oliver Goldsmith Primary School | Mixed | 2.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| St Francis RC Primary School | Roman Catholic | 2.6 / 5 | Southwark |
| Pilgrims' Way Primary School | Mixed | 2.4 / 5 | Southwark |
| St Jude's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 2.4 / 5 | Southwark |
| St George's Cathedral Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | Not yet rated | Southwark |
| St Joseph's Catholic Infants School | Roman Catholic | Not yet rated | Southwark |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | Not yet rated | Southwark |
Our rating is out of 5 and combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and published results. Source: Department for Education (GIAS) and Ofsted.
Only when you qualify for more than one school. Each school ranks applicants against its own admission criteria without knowing where you placed it. If you qualify for several, the council offers the one you ranked highest, so putting a popular school first does not lower your chances at your second choice.
No. Distance only matters when a school has more applicants than places, and then it offers places in the order its admission criteria set out. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or catchment area. Faith schools and grammar schools use different criteria. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.
The council offers a place at another school with room, which may be further from home. You can accept it and still join the waiting lists for the schools you preferred. Waiting lists are ranked by the admission criteria, not by how long a child has been on them. You can also appeal to an independent panel for any school that refused you. Appeals for Reception to Year 2 rarely succeed, because infant classes are limited to 30 pupils by law and a panel can only admit above that limit in narrow circumstances.