Lammas School Review 2026: Improving 11–16 comprehensive with a clear focus on culture, routines, and wider opportunities

Set in Leyton, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, this is a large, mixed secondary serving students aged 11 to 16, with a published capacity of 900. It was established in 2001 and joined the Griffin Schools Trust in December 2018, so much of its current identity is shaped by trust-wide expectations and shared events.

Leadership is a prominent part of the improvement story. Carla Kenny was appointed headteacher in October 2023 (having previously been head of school), and the school has since tightened lesson routines, expanded leadership capacity, and prioritised consistency in behaviour and classroom practice.

On outcomes, the data picture is challenging. GCSE performance sits below England average on FindMySchool’s ranking, and Progress 8 is negative, indicating that students, on average, make less progress than peers with similar starting points. What makes the school worth a close look is the combination of a structured day, a strong emphasis on personal development, and a co-curricular offer that includes Debate Mate, the Coram Shakespeare Schools Festival, and trust-wide festivals across sport, science, and the arts.

This is a school that talks explicitly about culture. Its published values are wisdom, courage, and leadership, and it frames daily expectations around safety, learning, and respect. That is not just branding. The school describes itself as outward-looking and inclusive, with free access to enrichment intended to broaden horizons, and it positions personal development and community contribution as central rather than optional.

A key part of the feel is routine. The timetable starts with tutorial time and a structured sequence of lessons and breaks, and the school day is clearly set out for families. That clarity matters for students who benefit from predictability, particularly in a large secondary where small inconsistencies can quickly become friction points.

The recent improvement narrative is also unusually public, with the school sharing updates after formal visits. The latest monitoring activity emphasises greater consistency in behaviour and calmer social spaces, alongside a push for shared teaching routines, including the school’s “smart start” and lesson framework.

Lammas is an 11–16 school, so the headline measures sit at GCSE. On FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking (based on official data), it is ranked 2,969th in England and 20th within Waltham Forest. This places it below England average, within the lower 40% of schools in England for this measure.

The attainment and progress indicators align with that overall position. Attainment 8 is 40.6, and Progress 8 is -0.77. EBacc average point score is 3.46, and 7.8% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc.

Interpreting those figures for families: negative Progress 8 suggests that, on average, students leave with lower outcomes than other pupils nationally who had similar prior attainment. That does not mean every child will underperform, but it does raise the importance of looking closely at teaching consistency, behaviour in lessons, and how well gaps are identified and addressed for your child.

Curriculum intent is broad at Key Stage 3, with a stated emphasis on strong foundations, particularly in English, mathematics, and science, plus weekly access to practical and creative subjects that feed into Key Stage 4 options.

External evaluation provides a useful lens on where the school has been strengthening. The September 2023 Ofsted inspection judged the school Requires Improvement, while describing raised expectations, a broad curriculum (especially in Years 7 to 9), and a coherent approach in some subjects, such as aligning graph-drawing methods across mathematics and science. It also highlighted that teaching did not consistently check what pupils remembered from prior learning, and that insufficient practice and rehearsal sometimes meant pupils moved on before securing knowledge.

The more recent monitoring picture focuses on operational improvements. Leaders have refined the curriculum so that important knowledge is clearer, introduced greater structure through lesson routines, and put additional academic support in place to address gaps. Reading is an explicit priority, with improvements to the reading programme described as having a positive impact.

For parents, the practical implication is straightforward: ask how the school assesses what students remember over time, not just what they did last week, and what targeted support looks like for pupils who arrive behind, or who experience disruption to learning.

With no current sixth form on-site, the typical pathway is movement to sixth form colleges, school sixth forms elsewhere, apprenticeships, or training providers at 16.

Destination data for the latest published cohort (2023/24) indicates that 43% progressed to university, 8% to further education, 5% to apprenticeships, and 15% to employment. These figures do not describe the quality of destinations, but they do show a spread of routes rather than a single dominant pathway.

The school frames preparation for the next stage as part of its core work, including careers guidance, personal development, and engagement with external organisations and events. In practice, families should look for a careers programme that supports both academic and technical routes, particularly given the importance of strong post-16 choices for long-term outcomes.

Admissions are coordinated through Waltham Forest Council, rather than directly by the school, and the school’s admissions information points families back to the local authority process.

For September 2026 Year 7 entry, Waltham Forest’s published timeline sets out the key dates: applications open 01 September 2025 and close 31 October 2025; National Offer Day is 02 March 2026; offers must be accepted or declined by 16 March 2026; and the borough’s transition day is 01 July 2026.

Local authority guidance also lists a Year 6 open evening for this intake cycle on Monday 29 September 2025. If you are reading this after those dates, treat them as indicative of the usual seasonal pattern, with open evenings typically in early autumn and the application window running from September to late October each year.

Because the school does not publish a “last distance offered” figure here, it is sensible to assume that allocation will depend on the borough’s criteria (including priority groups and distance where relevant). Families who are uncertain should use FindMySchoolMap Search to check their precise home-to-school position against recent allocation patterns once the local authority releases them.

Pastoral provision is described as multi-layered. The school publishes a safeguarding structure with a named Designated Safeguarding Lead, Craig Heatly, alongside deputy leads, and it outlines an approach that includes anti-bullying, reducing harm, and proactive online safety education through PSHE and assemblies.

A practical strength is the breadth of internal support interventions. The school’s student care offer includes Place2Be counselling, with one-to-one and group support, plus a daily self-referral drop-in service called Place2Talk. It also lists targeted interventions such as Boxing Clever Mentoring, Sensory Circuits, Zones of Regulation support, attendance groups, friendship support groups, art therapy, and anxiety support.

This range matters for families whose child may need structured emotional support alongside academic expectations. The sensible question to ask is how students access help in practice, how quickly support starts, and how communication with families works when concerns arise.

Lammas puts co-curricular participation at the centre of school life, and it names specific programmes rather than relying on generic claims.

Music is a clear pillar. Key Stage 3 students have weekly music lessons with a practical emphasis using orchestral instruments, and the school highlights specialist spaces including music classrooms and a keyboard suite. That sort of provision tends to suit students who gain confidence through performance and structured practice, and it can be especially valuable for pupils who may not see themselves as “academic first” but thrive with concrete skill development.

Drama and oracy are also well signposted. Weekly drama clubs and theatre projects are complemented by participation in the Coram Shakespeare Schools Festival. For spoken language, the school runs Debate Mate for Years 7 to 10 and references competition routes including a local debating competition and the Jack Petchey “Speak Out!” challenge. The implication for families is that confident communication is treated as a teachable skill, which can benefit students across the curriculum and in interviews for post-16 options.

Trust-wide events provide additional structure across the year. The Griffin Sports Festival (autumn), Founders Day and the Griffin Science Symposium (spring), and the Griffin Arts Festival (summer) are positioned as shared experiences that widen participation beyond a single year group or talent pathway.

The school day runs from 08:30 to 15:00, with after-school enrichment scheduled from 15:00 to 16:00, and the school publishes a typical weekly total of 32 hours and 30 minutes.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Families should still budget for the normal secondary extras such as uniform, trips, and optional enrichment, and ask what support is available where cost could be a barrier.

In travel terms, the setting in Leyton is described as within Jubilee Park and within walking distance of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which usually translates to reasonable public transport options and walkable routes for local families.

• Outcomes are currently a weakness. The GCSE ranking sits below England average and Progress 8 is -0.77, so families should be realistic about the attainment picture and look closely at the quality of teaching, assessment, and intervention for their child.

• Consistency in lessons has been a development area. Earlier external evaluation highlighted that checking prior learning and building secure recall was not consistent, which can disproportionately affect students who need repetition and practice to secure knowledge.

• Behaviour and learning climate have required attention. The improvement work emphasises calmer corridors and more consistent routines, but families should ask directly how disruptions are handled and what classroom behaviour looks like across subjects and year groups.

• Post-16 is off-site. With no sixth form currently operating, students will be making a significant transition at 16, so the quality of careers guidance and the strength of links to local sixth forms and colleges matter.

Lammas is a school in an improvement phase, with leadership and systems that prioritise consistent routines, clearer teaching practice, and a strong co-curricular and personal development offer. The academic outcomes data suggests that securing strong GCSE results is not yet a settled strength, so the best fit is likely to be families who value structure, pastoral depth, and a wider programme of oracy, arts, and sport, and who will actively engage with progress tracking and support. For students who respond well to predictable routines, targeted help, and opportunities to build confidence beyond the classroom, this can be a good match, provided families go in with eyes open about current results.