Find the best secondary schools in Tower Hamlets. Compare Ofsted ratings, catchment areas, GCSE results and Progress 8.
Tower Hamlets has 18 secondary 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 18, 3 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 secondary 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Swanlea School | sixth form | 4.5 / 5 |
| Mulberry School for Girls | girls, sixth form | 4.3 / 5 |
| Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School | Church of England, sixth form | 4.1 / 5 |
| St Paul's Way Trust School | all-through, sixth form | 3.9 / 5 |
| Oaklands School | sixth form | 3.8 / 5 |
| Central Foundation Girls' School | girls, sixth form | 3.7 / 5 |
| Morpeth School | sixth form | 3.6 / 5 |
| Mulberry Academy Shoreditch | sixth form |
There are 18 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets. Of those, 1 is an all-through school, teaching both primary and secondary years.
Apply by 31 October in your child's Year 6, for a place starting the following September. 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 1 March, or the next working day.
No. None of the 18 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets selects pupils by ability.
Of the 18 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets, 15 have a sixth form. Students at a school that stops at 16 apply separately for sixth form, either at another school or at a college.
Of the 18 secondary schools in Tower Hamlets, 3 have a religious character: 1 Christian, 1 Church of England and 1 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.
Yes, Tower Hamlets has 2 girls' schools. The other 16 are mixed. Some single-sex schools take both boys and girls into the sixth form.
On our star rating, the highest rated are Swanlea School (4.5), (4.3), (4.1), (3.9) and (3.8). The rating is our own, out of 5. It combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and GCSE results, with the parent survey carrying the most weight. Of the 18 schools here, 17 have enough published data for a rating.
| 3.5 / 5 |
| Wapping High School | Mixed | 3.4 / 5 |
| Canary Wharf College Crossharbour | Christian | 3.2 / 5 |
| Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College | sixth form | 3.2 / 5 |
| George Green's School | sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| London Enterprise Academy | Mixed | 3.1 / 5 |
| Bishop Challoner Catholic School | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| Langdon Park Community School | sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| Bow School | sixth form | 2.7 / 5 |
| Mulberry UTC | sixth form | 1.6 / 5 |
| Mulberry Academy London Dock | sixth form | 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.