Find the best primary schools in Tower Hamlets. Compare Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and parent reviews.
Tower Hamlets has 67 primary schools, all in Tower Hamlets council's area. 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 67, 17 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 Tower Hamlets 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mayflower Primary School | Mixed | 5.0 / 5 |
| Stewart Headlam Primary School | Mixed | 4.9 / 5 |
| Mulberry Wood Wharf Primary School | Mixed | 4.8 / 5 |
| The Clara Grant Primary School | Mixed | 4.8 / 5 |
| Columbia Primary School | Mixed | 4.8 / 5 |
| St Peter's London Docks CofE Primary School | Church of England | 4.7 / 5 |
| Globe Primary School | Mixed | 4.7 / 5 |
| William Davis Primary School | Mixed |
There are 67 primary schools in Tower Hamlets. 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 67 primary schools in Tower Hamlets, 17 have a religious character: 8 Church of England, 7 Roman Catholic and 2 Christian. 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 Mayflower Primary School (5.0), Stewart Headlam Primary School (4.9), Mulberry Wood Wharf Primary School (4.8), The Clara Grant Primary School (4.8) and Columbia 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 67 schools here, 62 have enough published data for a rating.
| 4.7 / 5 |
| Culloden Primary - A Paradigm Academy | Mixed | 4.7 / 5 |
| Canary Wharf College, Glenworth | Christian | 4.6 / 5 |
| Lansbury Lawrence Primary School | Mixed | 4.6 / 5 |
| Bygrove Primary School | Mixed | 4.6 / 5 |
| Bigland Green Primary School | Mixed | 4.5 / 5 |
| Stebon Primary School | Mixed | 4.5 / 5 |
| Solebay Primary - A Paradigm Academy | Mixed | 4.5 / 5 |
| Hermitage Primary School | Mixed | 4.5 / 5 |
| St Agnes RC Primary School | Roman Catholic | 4.4 / 5 |
| Old Palace Primary School | Mixed | 4.4 / 5 |
| Mowlem Primary School | Mixed | 4.4 / 5 |
| Christ Church CofE School | Church of England | 4.3 / 5 |
| Woolmore Primary School | Mixed | 4.3 / 5 |
| Old Ford Primary - A Paradigm Academy | Mixed | 4.3 / 5 |
| Wellington Primary School | Mixed | 4.2 / 5 |
| Bangabandhu Primary School | Mixed | 4.2 / 5 |
| Hague Primary School | Mixed | 4.2 / 5 |
| St Luke's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 4.2 / 5 |
| St Paul's Whitechapel Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 4.2 / 5 |
| Marion Richardson Primary School | Mixed | 4.1 / 5 |
| Thomas Buxton Primary School | Mixed | 4.1 / 5 |
| Ben Jonson Primary School | Mixed | 4.1 / 5 |
| Canary Wharf College, East Ferry | Christian | 4.1 / 5 |
| John Scurr Primary School | Mixed | 4.1 / 5 |
| Kobi Nazrul Primary School | Mixed | 4.1 / 5 |
| Blue Gate Fields Junior School | Mixed | 4.0 / 5 |
| Manorfield Primary School | Mixed | 4.0 / 5 |
| Osmani Primary School | Mixed | 4.0 / 5 |
| St Paul's Way Trust School | all-through | 3.9 / 5 |
| Chisenhale Primary School | Mixed | 3.9 / 5 |
| St Mary and St Michael Primary School | Roman Catholic | 3.9 / 5 |
| Cubitt Town Primary School | Mixed | 3.8 / 5 |
| Halley Primary School | Mixed | 3.8 / 5 |
| Stepney Park Primary School | Mixed | 3.7 / 5 |
| Harbinger Primary School | Mixed | 3.7 / 5 |
| St Saviour's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 3.7 / 5 |
| Stepney Greencoat Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 3.7 / 5 |
| Cyril Jackson Primary School | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 |
| Seven Mills Primary School | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 |
| Malmesbury Primary School | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 |
| English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 3.5 / 5 |
| St Edmund's Catholic School | Roman Catholic | 3.5 / 5 |
| Bonner Primary School | Mixed | 3.5 / 5 |
| Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy | Mixed | 3.5 / 5 |
| Lawdale Junior School | Mixed | 3.4 / 5 |
| St John's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 3.4 / 5 |
| Marner Primary School | Mixed | 3.4 / 5 |
| Cayley Primary School | Mixed | 3.4 / 5 |
| Sir William Burrough Primary School | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Olga Primary School | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Harry Gosling Primary School | Mixed | 3.0 / 5 |
| Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 3.0 / 5 |
| St Paul With St Luke CofE Primary Federation | Church of England | 2.9 / 5 |
| Arnhem Wharf Primary School | Mixed | 2.9 / 5 |
| Blue Gate Fields Infants' School | Mixed | Not yet rated |
| Elizabeth Selby Infants' School | Mixed | Not yet rated |
| St Anne's and Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | Not yet rated |
| St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | Not yet rated |
| Virginia Primary School | Mixed | Not yet rated |
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.