SF School Facts UK

Secondary school in Welling, Bexley

Welling School

Elsa Road, Welling, Kent, DA16 1LB

Sixth form
School website 02083048531

Ofsted

Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 10 February 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

34.7 England 47

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

Grade 5+ in English & maths

27% England 46.2%

Grade 4+ in English & maths

48% England 66.2%

EBacc average point score

2.9 England 4.2

Entered the EBacc

11% England 40.8%

On Attainment 8 this school is in the bottom 10% 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 bottom quarter.

Progress 8 2023/24

-0.82confidence interval -1.00 to -0.64

Taking that range into account, pupils made less progress than similar pupils nationally. DfE bands this as well below 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
C-
Average points per entry
26.1

England average 32.3

A level students
39

Pupils

Pupils on roll
1084
Places
1850
How full
59% full — 1084 of 1850 places taken, so places are likely to be available
Girls / boys
532 / 552
Overall absence
12%

secondary schools average 8.6%

Persistently absent
40%

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

Free school meals, last 6 years
35%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
14%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
4%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
14%

England 15%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
87%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
77%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
5%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
31%
No sustained destination
10%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
283

After sixth form

Went to university
27%

England 50%

In education, work or training
77%

England 84.3%

Started an apprenticeship
5%

England 6.5%

Students in the cohort
88

Going on to university 2021/22 leavers

Went to a top third university

4% 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
43%

England 65.3%

Students in the cohort
97

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 Bexley 013C, 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
30%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
20%

England 18.3%

Households owning their home
69%

England 62.7%

Households in social housing
19%

England 17%

Households with no car
25%

England 21.9%

Adults economically inactive
37%

England 39.9%

School details

Type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Ages
Ages 11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Religious character
None
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Trust
THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST
Headteacher
Headteacher: Brian Griffen
Local authority
Bexley
Ward
East Wickham
Constituency
Old Bexley and Sidcup
URN
136720

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Nearest secondary schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Distance
Bexley Grammar SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2022 74.7 0.8 mi
Harris Academy FalconwoodAcademy sponsor led No grade 47.3 1.3 mi
Blackfen School for GirlsAcademy converter No grade 44.1 1.3 mi
Thrive Independent SchoolOther independent school No grade 1.5 mi
Break Through SchoolOther independent school No grade 1.5 mi
Lift BexleyheathAcademy sponsor led No grade 41.1 1.5 mi
Plumstead Manor SchoolCommunity school Requires improvement 2023 33.4 1.6 mi
Townley Grammar SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2023 75 1.7 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
King Edward VI Aston SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2022 71.2
Drayton Manor High SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2023 56
Testwood SchoolAcademy converter No grade 42.9
Bridgemary SchoolAcademy sponsor led Requires improvement 2023 33.8
Hertswood AcademyAcademy converter No grade 38.3
The Excel AcademyAcademy converter Good 2021 37.5
Charnwood CollegeAcademy sponsor led Good 2022 43.9
The WREN SchoolFree schools No grade 44.8

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.