Connaught School for Girls Review 2026: Small-school feel, big on responsibility

A girls-only 11–16 school that keeps a deliberately “known and supported” feel, despite serving a busy part of east London. The most distinctive practical feature is its split-site set-up, with an annexe that houses the science laboratories and physical education facilities, which shapes the rhythm of the week for many students.

Leadership has stabilised after a period of interim arrangements, with Alex Silk taking up the headteacher post in January 2024. In its most recent full inspection (February 2025), all four graded judgement areas were Good, under the newer approach where schools no longer receive a single overall effectiveness grade.

Parents weighing this option are usually deciding between the convenience of a local, state-funded girls’ school and the reality of competitive admissions in Waltham Forest. Connaught’s published admission number is 124 for Year 7, and places are allocated via the local authority, using priority rules that will feel familiar to London families.

A consistent theme in how Connaught presents itself, and how external review describes it, is individuality within a close community. Students are expected to take responsibility early, through formal roles, peer mentoring, and structured expectations around conduct, attendance, and daily routines.

The school’s values are stated as Excellence, Resilience and Inclusion, and this framing matters because it shows up in day-to-day choices rather than as purely branding. The calendar of enrichment leans into activities that put students in front of real audiences or real tasks, for example the Citizens UK club and public speaking opportunities, alongside structured academic support for Year 11 and targeted interventions where needed.

There is also a deliberate pastoral “extra layer” that goes beyond standard tutoring. The school has run sessions involving a therapy dog, Monty, and this is positioned as both wellbeing support and a relationship-building tool, rather than a novelty.

A practical point that affects atmosphere is the two-site arrangement. Students are not simply in a single building all day, and the annexe is not a minor add-on, it houses core facilities (science labs and PE). The implication is that routines, movement between sites, and staff deployment are more operationally complex than in a single-site school, and families may want to understand how that works for their child, especially if they value predictability.

Connaught’s most recent GCSE performance data is best read as broadly mid-pack for England, with some strengths and some areas to watch closely.

FindMySchool ranking context (GCSE)

Ranked 1,219th in England and 8th in Waltham Forest for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). This places results in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

Attainment 8

50.3.

Progress 8

-0.18, which indicates students, on average, make slightly below-average progress from their starting points across eight GCSE subjects (a metric that matters because it adjusts for prior attainment).

EBacc

The average EBacc point score is 4.6, compared with an England average of 4.08 suggesting stronger performance among those entered for the EBacc combination than the national picture.

For parents, the implication is straightforward: this is not a school defined by headline-chasing exam statistics, but it is also not complacent. The academic strategy described in official materials is about sequencing, subject coverage, and supporting students to secure core knowledge, with targeted help where gaps appear, particularly in reading fluency and foundational mathematics.

Connaught runs a conventional secondary model in structure, but with some thoughtful twists in curriculum design and support pathways.

At Key Stage 3, students study the expected academic spine (English, mathematics, science, humanities, languages), with technology and creative arts positioned as important alongside the EBacc disciplines. That matters because it signals that option choices are not treated as “academic versus practical”, they are treated as routes to motivation and sustained engagement.

At Key Stage 4, the core offer includes English language and literature, mathematics, science, a modern foreign language expectation for many students, religious education, and PSHE/citizenship/careers. Options include subjects such as geography, history, photography, sociology and sports qualifications, with the detail and awarding bodies made explicit in published option information, which is helpful for families who care about curriculum clarity rather than general promises.

Two support features stand out. First, a “fast-track” pathway can allow some students to take two languages via an accelerated route. Second, a Supportive Studies route can replace one GCSE option for a smaller group, giving extra time for consolidation in core areas and guided support. The implication is that the school is trying to hold onto breadth while still making room for students who need either extension or additional scaffolding.

Because the school ends at Year 11, the transition focus is post-16 rather than university destinations. The most useful way to assess “next steps” here is the quality of careers education, guidance, and the realism of preparation for sixth form and college entry requirements.

The school sets out a structured careers programme, using a mix of appointments, group workshops, parent and guardian sessions, and employer-facing activities such as STEM industry mentoring and technology partnerships. For families, the implication is that post-16 planning should start earlier than Year 11, and that a student who is undecided is still likely to encounter a broad set of pathways, including technical routes and apprenticeships, not only A-level trajectories.

There is also evidence of “application-readiness” activity in Year 11 communications, including sessions aimed at helping students complete post-16 applications and prepare for open days and interviews. In practice, this is often the difference between a smooth move to a strong post-16 setting and a rushed, late decision.

Connaught is a state school with no tuition fees. Entry is primarily into Year 7, and the process is coordinated by the London Borough of Waltham Forest rather than direct applications to the school.

Published Admission Number (Year 7)

Key timings for September 2026 entry (Waltham Forest)

• Applications open in early September 2025 and close on 31 October 2025.

• Offers are issued on 2 March 2026 (National Offer Day for secondary in Waltham Forest that year).

When the school is oversubscribed, priority follows the usual legal categories and local rules. The admissions policy confirms that distance from the school gate is used as a criterion after higher priorities, using the local authority’s GIS route-finder measurement approach. It also confirms a notable local detail: a sibling link is recognised between Connaught and Norlington School and 6th Form, meaning a brother at Norlington can count as a sibling connection for a girl applying to Connaught, and vice versa.

For parents trying to gauge realism, tools that help with distance and shortlisting are genuinely useful here. The FindMySchool Map Search can help families understand practical proximity, and Saved Schools is an efficient way to track changing preferences as open evenings and application season unfold.

Open evenings typically run in September. For the 2026 entry cycle, Waltham Forest listed Connaught’s open evening as 17 September 2025 (6.00pm to 8.30pm).

Pastoral support is clearly designed around routine, monitoring, and named responsibility. Tutor time is used for assemblies, literacy and reading enrichment, and structured discussion, creating a predictable platform for personal development and student voice.

A distinctive feature is the combination of peer-mentoring culture and wellbeing supports that go beyond the minimum. The presence of mentoring roles, combined with pastoral initiatives such as Monty’s sessions, suggests the school is trying to normalise help-seeking and relationship-based support for students who might otherwise keep concerns to themselves.

The most recent inspection explicitly confirmed safeguarding effectiveness, which matters because it is the baseline condition for everything else a school claims to do.

Extracurricular life is broader and more structured than many families expect from an 11–16 state school, and it runs across three categories: enrichment, academic support, and identity-building clubs.

Practical, named examples from the published clubs programme include

• Citizens UK Club

• Eco Club

• Royal Academy Young Artists Club (KS3)

• Dog Club

• Archery

• Boxing

• Board Game Club

• Mindfulness Club

• Computing Club

• Science Cinema Club (Years 8 and 9)

This variety has two implications. First, students can find “their thing” without needing to be elite at sport or already committed to performing arts. Second, the academic support layer is explicit: subject interventions and revision sessions appear as part of the same ecosystem, not as a separate remedial track. For Year 11 families, that matters because it normalises extra support and reduces stigma.

There is also evidence of wider-world engagement, for example educational visits that connect directly to curriculum areas, and civic-facing activity through local and London-wide programmes. The underlying message is that Connaught is trying to connect learning to lived experience, rather than treating school as only classroom instruction.

School day

Monday to Thursday runs to 3.20pm; Friday finishes earlier at 2.20pm. The published weekly total is 34 hours and 10 minutes. Breakfast provision and early access to the library are available before lessons, and the library is open until 4.30pm after school.

Travel and logistics

The school states there is no visitor parking on site and highlights local restrictions during the day, with an NCP car park at Leytonstone Station described as under five minutes’ walk away.

• No sixth form. If your priority is a seamless 11–18 journey, this is not that model. The post-16 transition can be a positive reset for many students, but it does mean an extra application process and a new environment at 16.

• Progress is slightly below average on Progress 8. The Progress 8 figure of -0.18 suggests the school should be judged on how well it supports consistent learning across the cohort, not only on the experience of the highest attainers. Families may want to ask specifically about support in mathematics foundations and reading fluency, because these areas are highlighted as improvement priorities in formal evaluation.

• Two sites to manage. The annexe houses science laboratories and PE facilities, which can be a positive (specialist space) but also means movement, organisation, and a slightly more complex daily pattern than a single-site school.

• Competitive admissions and rule-driven allocation. The published admission number is 124 for Year 7, and allocations follow a clear priority framework including distance. This is reassuring for fairness, but it can feel unforgiving for families living just outside the realistic range.

Connaught School for Girls suits families who want a state-funded, girls-only secondary with a structured day, a strong sense of responsibility, and a genuine menu of enrichment that includes wellbeing and academic support as well as clubs. It is likely to suit students who respond well to routines and who benefit from mentoring and clear expectations, including those who want a safe environment to build confidence before moving to a sixth form or college at 16. The main challenge is that admissions are competitive and allocation is criteria-led, so families should approach the process with both ambition and realism.