SF School Facts UK

Secondary school in Ilford, Redbridge

Valentines High School

Cranbrook Road, Ilford, Essex, IG2 6HX

Sixth form Full
School website 02085543608

Ofsted

Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 17 March 2026.

Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.

Read the Ofsted report

GCSE results 2024/25

Attainment 8 score

59.3 England 47

The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.

Grade 5+ in English & maths

76% England 46.2%

Grade 4+ in English & maths

85% England 66.2%

EBacc average point score

5.5 England 4.2

Entered the EBacc

54% England 40.8%

On Attainment 8 this school is in the top 10% of state-funded secondaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is middle, which is where this one sits, it is in the top 10%.

Progress 8 2023/24

0.91confidence interval 0.70 to 1.12

Taking that range into account, pupils made more progress than similar pupils nationally. DfE bands this as well above average.

Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.

A levels 2024/25

Average grade per entry
B-
Average points per entry
36.2

England average 32.3

A level students
183

Pupils

Pupils on roll
1357
Places
1288
How full
Full — 1357 pupils against 1288 places
Girls / boys
647 / 710
Overall absence
6%

secondary schools average 8.6%

Persistently absent
17%

secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
25%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
43%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
4%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
5%

England 15%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
97%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
96%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
1%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
80%
No sustained destination
2%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
179

After sixth form

Went to university
80%

England 50%

In education, work or training
88%

England 84.3%

Started an apprenticeship
3%

England 6.5%

Students in the cohort
219

Going on to university 2021/22 leavers

Went to a top third university

24% England 20.9%

The third of higher education providers whose entrants hold the highest average entry qualifications. It is the closest thing in the public data to "did they get into a competitive university", and it separates schools far more sharply than the headline progression rate does.

Went on to a degree
80%

England 65.3%

Students in the cohort
191

These follow an earlier group of leavers than the figures above, and count anyone reaching higher education within two years rather than the term after leaving, so they are not directly comparable with them.

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year, and why the university figures track leavers from 2021/22. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The neighbourhood around the school

Census 2021 figures for Redbridge 035A, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.

Adults with a degree
49%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
17%

England 18.3%

Households owning their home
41%

England 62.7%

Households in social housing
10%

England 17%

Households with no car
43%

England 21.9%

Adults economically inactive
37%

England 39.9%

School details

Type
Community school
Phase
Secondary
Ages
Ages 11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Religious character
None
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Headteacher
Headteacher: Richard Laws
Local authority
Redbridge
Ward
Valentines
Constituency
Ilford North
URN
102857

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Nearest secondary schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Distance
Apex Secondary School for GirlsOther independent school No grade 0.6 mi
Apex Secondary School for BoysOther independent school No grade 0.6 mi
Read Academy EducationOther independent school No grade 0.8 mi
The Ursuline Academy IlfordAcademy converter No grade 56.1 0.8 mi
Seven Kings SchoolCommunity school No grade 57.3 0.9 mi
Beal High SchoolAcademy converter Good 2021 52 1 mi
Oaks Park High SchoolCommunity school No grade 53.5 1.1 mi
Ilford County High SchoolCommunity school No grade 75.7 1.3 mi

Schools with a similar intake

State-funded secondary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Calderstones SchoolCommunity school Good 2023 46.1
Aylsham High SchoolFoundation school Good 2024 45
Audenshaw SchoolAcademy converter Good 2023 45.5
Kingstone High SchoolAcademy converter Good 2024 42.3
St Benet Biscop Catholic AcademyAcademy converter Good 2023 41.3
Immanuel CollegeAcademy converter Good 2024 41.9
Robert Barclay AcademyAcademy sponsor led Good 2023 44.2
Patchway Community SchoolAcademy converter No grade 37

Where these figures come from

  • School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
  • Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25, and 2023/24 for Progress 8.
  • Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
  • Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
  • Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.

All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.