Secondary school in London, Tower Hamlets
Wapping High School
153 Commercial Road, London, Not applicable, E1 2DA
Ofsted
Graded Good at its last graded inspection, on 21 November 2023.
Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 2 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.
- Current published outcome
- Good
- Last overall grade in this dataset
- Good
- Days since inspection
- 1,046 days
- Framework era
- Historic overall-grade framework (ended September 2024)
These four fields describe the latest published inspection on this record. The dataset does not keep a previous inspection row, so a school inspected under the current framework will usually have no overall grade to show as “prior”.
GCSE results 2024/25
Attainment 8 score
The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.
Grade 5+ in English & maths
Grade 4+ in English & maths
EBacc average point score
Entered the EBacc
On Attainment 8 this school is around the middle of state-funded secondaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second most disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the top quarter.
Progress 8 2023/24
Taking that range into account, progress was not statistically different from the national average. DfE bands this as 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.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 248
- Places
- 420
- How full
- 59% full — 248 of 420 places taken, so places are likely to be available
- Girls / boys
- 83 / 165
- Overall absence
- 10%
- Persistently absent
- 35%
secondary schools average 8.6%
secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 43%
- English as an additional language
- 56%
- With an EHC plan
- 5%
- On SEN support
- 13%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
School funding 2025-26 financial year
Not found for this URN in the 2025-26 release.
- Evidence found
- Not found for this URN in the 2025-26 release; this is not represented as £0.
- Source coverage
- DfE mainstream-school allocations for running costs for pupils aged 5-16, importer snapshot 23 August 2026.
- What this means
- The official mainstream allocation release does not provide a publishable row for this establishment.
- What this does not mean
- The school received no public funding or has no budget; other establishment types and funding streams use different publications.
Allocation is not expenditure. DfE says this release combines the schools block with several other revenue grants and excludes capital spending. Funding is shown for context and is never used in School Facts ordering, peer groups or quality claims. Source, licence and coverage.
Roads and getting there
Road casualties within 500m
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 11
- All reported collisions
- 495
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 68
- Busiest road nearby
- A13
England average 1.6 — pedestrians under 16, over five years
England average 24.2 over five years
25,224 vehicles a day (2025)
Public transport
- Bus stops within 500m
- 19
- Nearest station
- Shadwell DLR Station
England average 11.9
0.5 km away — metro or tram stop
Traffic volume is the context the collision count needs: a school beside a major road will record more collisions than one on a quiet street without being any less well run.
Every collision reported to the police within 500m of the school over the five years to 2024, from the Department for Transport's road casualty statistics. A high count usually says the school sits on or near a busy road, not that the school is unsafe — counts rise with traffic and with how built up an area is, and a rural school on a fast road may have fewer collisions but a worse one. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position.
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
- In education, work or training
- 91%
- Stayed in education
- 91%
- Started an apprenticeship
- 0%
- Stayed at this school's sixth form
- 22%
- No sustained destination
- 7%
- Pupils in the cohort
- 68
England 91.4%
England 85.4%
England 3.5%
England 5.8%
A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.
The area around the school
Among the most deprived fifth of England.
Among the most deprived fifth of England for children in low-income families.
Indices of Deprivation 2019, for the small area the school stands in. 1 means the most deprived tenth of England, 10 the least. The second measure counts only children living in low-income families, which is the one that describes the intake a school is likely to draw on.
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £427,500
- Typical range
- £332,500 to £652,625
- Terraced
- £850,000
- Flat
- £388,750
postcode sector E1 2 · 90 sales
middle half of sales
Homes around this school are dearer than most of England.
Every residential sale registered in this postcode sector since January 2024, from HM Land Registry. A sector covers roughly 2,500 addresses. England's median over the same period was £293,000.
Housing here is among the dearest in England while the resident population is among the most deprived. High house prices in a district do not mean the families who live there are well off, and this school's intake is likely to reflect the population rather than the property market.
Who lives there
- Adults with a degree
- 47%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 18%
- In professional or managerial work
- 25%
- Households deprived in 2+ ways
- 16%
- Residents in very good health
- 57%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 13.4%
England 17.8%
England 48.4%
Housing
- Owned by the occupier
- 10%
- Social housing
- 39%
- Privately rented
- 49%
- Detached homes
- 1%
- Four or more bedrooms
- 8%
- No car
- 75%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 19.2%
England 38.2%
England 22.5%
England 21.9%
Census 2021, for Tower Hamlets 021C and the wider neighbourhood around it. These figures describe the area, not the pupils — children may travel in from much further away, and for selective, faith and independent schools they usually do.
School details
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- Ages 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- The Wapping and Shadwell Secondary Education Trust
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Tom Raw
- Opened as this establishment
- 1 September 2012
- Register status
- Open
- Local authority
- Tower Hamlets
- Ward
- Whitechapel
- Constituency
- Bethnal Green and Stepney
- URN
- 138202
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
The URN identifies this registered establishment. If a school converts or is replaced, DfE may issue a new URN; this page does not stitch different establishments together by a similar name.
Admissions history
The official school-level admissions releases contain up to 13 national-offer-day observations, from 2014/15 to 2026/27. The chart shows first choices per place; the table keeps the underlying counts.
Year 7
All 12 annual observations
| Entry year | Places | First choices | Per place | First choices offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014/15 | 55 | 38 | 0.69 | 100% |
| 2015/16 | 50 | 33 | 0.66 | 100% |
| 2016/17 | 46 | 33 | 0.72 | 100% |
| 2017/18 | 31 | 20 | 0.65 | 100% |
| 2018/19 | 37 | 24 | 0.65 | 100% |
| 2019/20 | 82 | 27 | 0.33 | 100% |
| 2020/21 | 48 | 15 | 0.31 | 100% |
| 2021/22 | 77 | 17 | 0.22 | 100% |
| 2022/23 | 76 | 17 | 0.22 | 100% |
| 2023/24 | 99 | 18 | 0.18 | 100% |
| 2024/25 | 57 | 13 | 0.23 | 100% |
| 2025/26 | 34 | 18 | 0.53 | 100% |
These are annual observations, not forecasts. They exclude waiting lists, appeals and in-year admissions. Each series follows this exact URN only, so academy conversions and missing releases remain visible as gaps rather than being joined by name.
Nearest secondary schools
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 | Progress 8 | Distance | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mulberry School for GirlsAcademy converter | Outstanding 2024 | 55.2 | 0.610.43 to 0.79 | 0.1 mi | |
| Madani Secondary Girls' SchoolOther independent school | No overall grade | — | — | 0.1 mi | |
| London Enterprise AcademyFree schools | No overall grade | 48 | -0.10-0.41 to 0.20 · not a win | 0.2 mi | |
| Jamiatul Ummah SchoolOther independent school | No overall grade | — | — | 0.2 mi | |
| London Islamic SchoolOther independent school | No overall grade | — | — | 0.2 mi | |
| London East AcademyOther independent school | No overall grade | — | — | 0.3 mi | |
| Swanlea SchoolCommunity school | Outstanding 2024 | 56.9 | 0.810.61 to 1.01 | 0.4 mi | |
| Bishop Challoner Catholic SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2021 | 44.6 | — | 0.4 mi |
Schools like this
The 12 state schools in England whose intake most closely matches this one — same phase and sector, and as near as the data allows on size, disadvantage, SEN, English as an additional language and the deprivation of the surrounding area. These are the schools it can fairly be judged against.
Attainment 8 score. This school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.
| School | Area | Ofsted | Attainment 8 | Progress 8 | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lammas SchoolAcademy converter | London | Report card 2026 | 36.3 | -0.77-1.03 to -0.52 | |
| The Wisbech AcademyFree schools | Wisbech | No overall grade | — | — | |
| Valley AcademyFree schools | Bradford | Report card 2026 | 38.7 | -1.01-1.36 to -0.66 | |
| Fulham Cross Girls' School and Language CollegeAcademy converter | London | Report card 2026 | 57.1 | 0.440.18 to 0.71 | |
| Shireland Biomedical UtcUniversity technical college | West Bromwich | Requires improvement 2023 | — | — | |
| All Saints Catholic High SchoolVoluntary aided school | London | Good 2023 | 44.1 | 0.27-0.03 to 0.57 · not a win | |
| Marylebone Boys' SchoolFree schools | London | Good 2022 | 48.6 | 0.16-0.13 to 0.45 · not a win | |
| Logic Studio SchoolStudio schools | Feltham | No overall grade | 34.2 | 0.11-0.33 to 0.55 · not a win | |
| Brook Sixth Form and AcademyUniversity technical college | Dagenham | No overall grade | 38.7 | -0.60-1.30 to 0.09 · not a win | |
| Thornhill AcademyAcademy sponsor led | Sunderland | Good 2024 | 41.4 | -0.40-0.66 to -0.13 | |
| Lostock High SchoolCommunity school | Manchester | Report card 2026 | 43.7 | -0.73-1.15 to -0.32 | |
| Bishop Stopford's SchoolVoluntary aided school | Enfield | Good 2024 | 36.5 | -0.54-0.80 to -0.29 |
Matching uses only characteristics a school does not choose. It is not a ranking, and a close match on intake does not make two schools interchangeable — sixth form, faith character, admissions rules and simple geography all matter and are not in the calculation.
Evidence ledger
Reference dates and join methods are kept separate because the figures do not all describe the same year or geography.
| Evidence | Publisher | Reference date | How it reaches this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| School identity | Get Information About Schools | 23 August 2026 | Exact URN 138202; unified importer snapshot |
| Inspection evidence | Ofsted management information | 31 July 2026 | Exact URN; inspection 21 November 2023 |
| Attainment | DfE performance tables | 2024/25 | Exact URN; phase-specific definitions |
| Progress 8 | DfE performance tables | 2023/24 | Exact URN; confidence interval retained |
| Pupil intake | DfE school census | 2024/25 | Exact URN; suppressed values remain missing |
| Funding allocation | DfE school funding statistics | 2025-26 financial year | No row for this URN in the mainstream-school release; not represented as zero |
| Roads and transport | DfT road casualties, traffic and NaPTAN | Five-year road window; access-node snapshot | Coordinate join within the stated radius |
| Neighbourhood | ONS Census | 2021 | LSOA/MSOA containing the school, not pupil homes |
| Deprivation | English Indices of Deprivation | 2019 | LSOA containing the school |
| Home prices | HM Land Registry Price Paid Data | Sales since January 2024 | School postcode sector, not a catchment |
These sources are published for reuse under the Open Government Licence v3.0, including the Crown database-right notice that accompanies Price Paid Data. Definitions and source notes. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.