Leytonstone School Review 2026: Oversubscribed community secondary with a strong pastoral spine

A school that sets out its ambitions plainly: raise aspirations, widen horizons, and make sure students leave with qualifications and a clear next step. Leytonstone School is a mixed community secondary for ages 11 to 16, with a published admission number of 210 for Year 7 entry.

The latest Ofsted inspection (September 2021) confirmed the school continued to be rated Good, with a curriculum that is largely well sequenced and a clear emphasis on positive staff student relationships.

Leadership has changed since that inspection. The current headteacher is Mr Julian Onyelekere, in post from 04 November 2024.

In the FindMySchool GCSE outcomes rankings, Leytonstone is ranked 1892nd in England and 12th in Waltham Forest. That sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), a helpful starting point for parents who want a realistic, data-led view before visiting.

Leytonstone’s identity is closely tied to its local roots. The school dates its inception to 1911, originally opening as Leyton County High School for Girls, and it continues to position itself as a community institution rather than a selective enclave.

The tone set on the school website is values-led and outward-facing. “Resilience, Empathy, Achievement, Community, Honesty” are presented as the core values, and the headteacher frames the school’s role as academic, practical, and civic, including a stated aim to work with the local community to reduce violence and improve life chances.

External evidence aligns with that emphasis on relationships and belonging. Students are described as valuing positive relationships with staff, and the report also highlights a restorative approach to behaviour that helps keep lessons on track even when energy levels rise.

A distinctive thread through the school’s pastoral messaging is reading and talk. The pastoral programme references the “Leytonstone Canon” of books, used as a structured form-time reading and discussion routine. The goal is not just literacy for English lessons, but vocabulary, confidence, and cultural reference points across the week.

Leytonstone is an 11 to 16 school, so the most relevant results story is GCSE performance and progress. In the FindMySchool rankings based on official data, the school is ranked 1892nd in England for GCSE outcomes, and 12th within Waltham Forest. This places performance broadly in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which is usually a sign of steady outcomes with room for targeted improvement in specific areas.

Key headline measures include:

• Attainment 8: 51.2

• Progress 8: -0.17

• EBacc average point score: 4.04

• Percentage achieving grades 5 or above in the EBacc measure: 8.1

One practical implication of the Progress 8 figure is that, on average, results sit slightly below what would be expected from students’ starting points. That does not describe any individual child, but it does suggest parents should pay attention to subject-by-subject support, consistency of teaching, and how the school identifies and closes gaps.

There is also a clear languages signal. The most recent inspection notes that EBacc entry was below average in the past, linked to relatively few students continuing a modern foreign language through to GCSE, even though the planned languages curriculum was described as strong and Spanish had been introduced alongside French in Key Stage 3.

If you are comparing options locally, the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help you set Leytonstone’s outcomes alongside nearby schools on the same measures, without relying on anecdotes.

The curriculum intent described on the school website is broad, inclusive, and explicitly designed to meet and exceed National Curriculum requirements at Key Stages 3 and 4. That matters because it indicates a mainstream academic core rather than a narrow menu shaped only by exam technique.

What does that look like in practice? Formal curriculum sequencing appears to be a focus. Subjects are expected to map knowledge and skills from Year 7 through Year 11 so that students revisit and deepen prior learning rather than treating each unit as a standalone topic. In languages, that sequencing is used as a concrete example, with students drawing on earlier vocabulary at GCSE level.

Assessment is positioned as curriculum-linked rather than purely grade-driven, with the stated approach of checking whether planned content has been secured and then providing support where gaps remain. For families, the implication is straightforward: ask how quickly extra help arrives when a student falls behind, and whether it is delivered in small groups, one-to-one, or through adjusted classroom routines.

The main curriculum weakness identified in the most recent inspection relates to religious education, where Key Stage 3 depth was described as limited because planning leaned too heavily towards GCSE assessment requirements, narrowing broader learning about world religions. For parents, this is worth discussing at open events, especially if RE breadth is important to your family’s values.

With no sixth form on site, the success measure that matters most is progression at 16. The school itself states that 98% of students continue into further education, training or employment after leaving.

The careers offer is designed to make that transition practical rather than abstract. The school references employer interactions and partnerships to support career discovery, and the local authority’s secondary transfer booklet describes a “successful careers and employment programme” including timetabled work experience.

Year 11 pastoral information also signals that post-16 applications are treated as a normal part of the support package, alongside wellbeing and day-to-day guidance through the GCSE year.

The best question for families here is not “university or apprenticeship”, because many pathways start after college. Instead, ask how the school helps each student choose an appropriate sixth form college, training route, or employment step, and what happens if a student changes their mind late in Year 11.

Admissions are coordinated by the London Borough of Waltham Forest rather than directly by the school. For September 2026 entry, the local authority application deadline is 31 October 2025, and offers are released on 02 March 2026, with acceptance required by 16 March 2026.

Leytonstone is described by the school as oversubscribed. In practical terms, that means criteria order matters. For Waltham Forest community schools, the published priority order is: looked after and previously looked after children, then exceptional medical or social reasons or children at risk, then siblings, then children of school staff, then distance. Distance is measured as a straight line from the child’s permanent address to the school’s main gate, using the local authority’s mapping approach.

For families who are realistically relying on distance priority, the FindMySchool Map Search is the sensible way to model home-to-school distance precisely, then stress-test the plan against the fact that cut-off distances change year to year.

Open events are a key part of the decision process. For the 2026 entry cycle, the local authority lists Leytonstone’s open evening as Thursday 02 October 2025 (5pm to 8pm). If you are planning ahead for later cohorts, that points to a typical early October pattern, but families should always confirm the current year’s arrangements via official channels.

Pastoral support is positioned as structured, daily, and planned rather than reactive. The school describes a pastoral curriculum that begins at 08:40, delivered through carefully sequenced tutor sessions designed to build personal development alongside academic habits.

There is also explicit attention to broad development: assemblies linked to a “theme of the week”, discussion-based activities, and the reading canon approach. The implication for students is a consistent daily routine that normalises speaking, listening, and reflection, which can be especially helpful for children who need predictable structure to feel settled.

The most recent inspection confirms that safeguarding arrangements were effective at that point in time, and it also notes leadership investment in resources to support student mental health, responding to increased need.

Families should still treat wellbeing as something to verify in person. Ask how concerns are reported, what the pastoral ladder looks like from tutor to senior staff, and what the school does when low-level issues risk becoming patterns.

Enrichment matters most when it is easy to access and supported by staff, not only when it looks impressive on paper. Leytonstone’s approach is deliberately low-friction in places, with clubs that do not always require advance sign-up, encouraging students to attend on the day and then build a habit through regular participation.

A clear example is Duke of Edinburgh provision, including Bronze and Silver levels, which is explicitly linked to staff leadership on the enrichment timetable. The value here is wider than a certificate. The programme builds punctuality, planning, and a peer group that sees effort as normal.

Student leadership and inclusion groups are also part of the offer. The local authority booklet highlights an active Pupil Parliament, a prefect system embedded across year groups, an LGBTQ Student Ally group, and a climate action group. For many families, those structures are a strong signal about student voice and belonging, particularly for children who want school to feel socially safe as well as academically purposeful.

Sport appears to be accessible and varied rather than narrowly elite. The same source references a purpose-built sports hall, and sports clubs and competition in activities including basketball, netball, volleyball, football, badminton, table tennis and athletics.

The school operates a fortnightly timetable cycle, with Weeks A and B, and a five-period day. Students are organised into two tiers, Years 7, 10 and 11 together, and Years 8 and 9 together, with alternating break and lunch times.

Published opening hours are 8am to 4pm on weekdays during term time. Pastoral sessions are described as beginning at 08:40, which is a useful proxy for the real start of the school day for students.

For travel, the school references Leytonstone Underground Station (Central line) and local bus routes W15, W19 and W12.

• Progress trend: A Progress 8 score of -0.17 suggests outcomes are slightly below what might be expected from students’ starting points. Families should ask how the school targets support in English and mathematics, and how quickly intervention arrives for students who fall behind.

• Languages take-up: External review notes that relatively few students continued a modern foreign language to GCSE in the past, even though the planned curriculum in languages was described as strong. This may matter if you want an EBacc-shaped Key Stage 4.

• RE depth: Religious education was identified as the subject area where curriculum planning and sequencing needed more consideration to provide broader and deeper Key Stage 3 learning. Ask how this has been addressed since 2021.

• Competitive entry: The school describes itself as oversubscribed and community-school criteria ultimately include distance as the final tie-break. If you are relying on proximity, treat it as a probability rather than a promise and model distances carefully before committing to a single plan.

Leytonstone School offers a clear, community-focused education with structured pastoral routines and an emphasis on relationships, reading, and enrichment that builds confidence. Results sit around the middle of the pack nationally on the FindMySchool measures, with specific signals around progress and EBacc take-up that parents should explore in detail.

It best suits families seeking a local, values-led comprehensive where day-to-day structure, inclusion, and a strong pastoral programme matter as much as headline grades, and where students will use enrichment and leadership opportunities to build maturity alongside GCSE preparation.