St Paul’s Academy Review 2026: Catholic secondary in Abbey Wood with a clear service ethos

A school that frames daily life around community, faith, and practical support for families. The current leadership message sets the tone: pupils are described as “known, heard, seen and loved”, and the wider programme reflects that priority through chaplaincy-led initiatives, student leadership, and community service.

This is a non-selective, state-funded secondary for students aged 11 to 16, so families need a clear plan for post-16 pathways, including local sixth forms and colleges. Careers guidance and transition support feature strongly in the most recent inspection evidence, including a focus on apprenticeships and technical routes as well as academic progression.

Academically, the school sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England for GCSE outcomes (25th to 60th percentile), based on FindMySchool’s rankings using official data. Performance indicators suggest a mixed picture: attainment and EBacc measures sit below typical benchmarks, and progress is below average, while safeguarding is confirmed as effective and leadership is described as moving quickly on improvement priorities.

St Paul’s identity is rooted in two strands that shape the day-to-day experience. The first is its Catholic character, expressed through chaplaincy, liturgy, retreats, and service projects that are accessible to students of all faith backgrounds and those without a faith. The second is a deliberate focus on pastoral care, including practical support such as a school food bank and community partnerships that translate values into action.

The Catholic Schools Inspectorate visit in February 2024 graded Catholic life and mission as Outstanding, with Religious Education and collective worship graded Good, and noted a strong emphasis on pastoral care and “faith in action and service”.

Daily routines are designed to settle students into learning with structure and consistency. Morning gate timings, pastoral team oversight, and readiness checks are presented as core to the culture, rather than add-ons. Breakfast provision is explicit, including free porridge and toast each morning, which can matter to families balancing early commutes and household costs.

The history also matters here. Founded as St Paul’s Catholic Secondary School in 1968, the school became an academy in 2005, moved into a new campus in January 2010, and has since expanded to accommodate 1,200 students. That combination, long local roots plus a modern rebuild, helps explain why facilities are a notable feature for a non-selective state secondary.

Ranked 2,555th in England and 14th in Greenwich for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), which places results in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

The attainment picture suggests room for improvement. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 42.5, and the Progress 8 score is -0.25, indicating students, on average, make below-average progress from their starting points compared with similar students nationally. The EBacc outcomes are also modest: 11.5% achieved grade 5 or above in the EBacc, and the EBacc average point score is 3.71.

The latest Ofsted inspection (May 2023) judged the school Requires Improvement overall, with Quality of Education and Behaviour and Attitudes also Requires Improvement, and Personal Development plus Leadership and Management both Good. Safeguarding was judged effective.

For parents, the practical implication is this: expectations and systems are tightening, but outcomes and classroom consistency are not yet where leaders want them to be. If your child thrives with clear routines and adult guidance, the direction of travel matters. If your child is highly self-driven academically, you will want to probe subject-by-subject consistency, especially in Key Stage 4.

Curriculum design is a central theme in the most recent evidence. A key issue identified was early GCSE option choices that reduced curriculum breadth before the end of Key Stage 3, with planned changes from September 2023 intended to secure full curriculum entitlement through Year 9.

Within lessons, subject knowledge is described as strong, but the quality of education is uneven across departments. That gap usually shows up as differences in sequencing, task design, and how systematically teachers check understanding and address misconceptions. The school’s stated improvement work focuses on tightening these fundamentals so that students build knowledge securely, rather than accumulating gaps that only emerge at GCSE.

Support for students with special educational needs and disabilities is described as improving, particularly through clearer information shared with staff and more consistent adaptations. The facilities list also references an SEND suite, The Evergreen Hub, with specialist intervention and support spaces.

Because the school finishes at 16, transition planning is not optional, it is a core part of the student journey. Careers provision is described as comprehensive, with structured guidance on progression to local sixth forms and colleges, alongside exposure to employers and routes such as apprenticeships and technical qualifications.

The school also references partnership working with Christ the King Sixth Forms (CTK), plus A-level masterclasses introduced from the 2025 to 2026 academic year to broaden post-16 pathway awareness for GCSE students.

For families, the practical takeaway is to start post-16 thinking early in Year 10. The advantage of a 16-only school is clarity: GCSE outcomes are the immediate focus, and the next step is chosen intentionally rather than by default internal progression. The trade-off is that students who want a seamless sixth form experience will need to secure it elsewhere.

Year 7 admission is planned at 210 places for September 2026 entry (the 2026 to 2027 Year 7 cohort).

As a Catholic school, there are faith and community routes. A key operational detail is that applicants seeking a place under Catholic and other faith criteria are expected to complete a Certificate of Catholic Practice; without it, the application is considered under community criteria.

For Royal Greenwich residents, the coordinated secondary admissions timeline for September 2026 entry states:

• Applications open 01 September 2025

• Closing date 31 October 2025

• Results published 02 March 2026

• Acceptance deadline 16 March 2026

• Appeals close 30 March 2026

• Induction day 01 July 2026

Open events follow an annual rhythm. For the September 2026 intake, the school ran an open day in late September and promoted additional coffee mornings for prospective families. Expect open events to cluster in September and early autumn each year, with booking requirements varying by event type.

A practical tip: families considering admission should use the FindMySchoolMap Search to sense-check realistic options across Royal Greenwich, especially if you are balancing faith criteria, sibling priority, and travel time.

Pastoral care is a defining strength in the school’s own narrative and in external evidence, including structured safeguarding culture, staff training, and clear processes for reporting concerns.

The Catholic life programme also functions as a pastoral framework. Students are offered multiple routes into leadership and service, including chaplaincy-linked initiatives, the St Vincent De Paul society, and justice and peace activity. That gives students who are not motivated purely by grades a meaningful set of roles that build confidence, responsibility, and belonging.

At the same time, behaviour consistency is flagged as an improvement priority, with disruption still present in some lessons when expectations are not applied uniformly. Parents should ask direct questions about how behaviour standards are reinforced, how pastoral and academic teams coordinate, and how quickly issues are resolved when they affect learning.

Extracurricular life is easiest to understand here through specific, school-named examples rather than generic club lists.

Service and leadership are prominent. The St Vincent De Paul society links students to local community support, and students also run practical initiatives such as a food bank. Student leadership includes fundraising and cultural events that celebrate the school’s diversity, and mentoring routes for peer support are referenced as part of leadership development.

Performing arts are supported by dedicated spaces, including a Drama Studio, Music Studio, and Dance Studio. The school also highlights opportunities such as choir and a percussion ensemble, plus an annual musical production, which helps students who gain confidence through performance and teamwork.

Sport and fitness provision is unusually detailed for a state secondary: a 4G FA-approved pitch, two Multi-Use Games Areas (MUGAs), a running track, a grass pitch, a sports hall, and a fitness suite. For families where routine physical activity supports wellbeing and focus, those facilities can be a practical advantage, not just a marketing line.

The compulsory day starts at 08:21, ends at 15:10 on most days, and 14:20 on Wednesdays. Students can arrive from 07:45, with breakfast available in the restaurant, including free porridge and toast each morning.

On transport, the school is directly served by TfL bus route 469, which includes stops labelled “St Pauls Academy” and links to “Abbey Wood Station” on the same route.

Wraparound care is not generally a feature of secondary schools, but the school explicitly notes that many students remain after school for supervised work or organised activities.

• Inspection outcome and consistency. Requires Improvement (May 2023) reflects uneven curriculum quality across subjects and inconsistent behaviour management in some lessons. Parents should explore how subject leaders track impact and how staff ensure common standards.

• Key Stage 4 readiness. The curriculum has been through change to protect breadth through Year 9, but implementation quality matters more than the plan. Ask how the school checks knowledge retention and closes gaps before GCSE.

• Faith admissions and paperwork. If you are applying through the Catholic route, the Certificate of Catholic Practice is a practical requirement; without it, the application is treated as community entry. Families should read criteria carefully and keep documents organised early.

• Post-16 transition. With no sixth form on site, students must move at 16. For some, this is motivating and creates a fresh start; for others it can feel disruptive. Start conversations about the next step well before Year 11.

St Paul’s Academy is a Catholic 11 to 16 with strong facilities, a visible service culture, and a pastoral model that extends beyond the classroom into practical community support. Academic outcomes and in-class consistency are the areas to scrutinise, particularly given the Requires Improvement judgement and the below-average progress measure.

Who it suits: families who value a Catholic framework with accessible community places, want structured routines, and see character, service, and leadership opportunities as central to education, while being ready to engage actively with the school on academic improvement and post-16 planning.