School Chooser

Blue Gate Fields Junior School

Primary · ages 7-11MixedCouncil350 pupilsLondonTower Hamlets
School Chooser Score
93
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 88 to 96
Out of 100. Better than 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, March 2023
Reached the expected level at 1176%England 63%
Attendance95.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families38%Far more than most schools
Places10 spare350 pupils, 360 places
Pupils per teacher16.5School workforce census

Blue Gate Fields Junior School is a council school in London for boys and girls aged 7 to 11. It has 350 pupils and room for 360. About 38 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 93 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

King David Lane, Wapping, London, E1 0EH020 7790 3616bluegatefields-jun.towerhamlets.sch.ukMs Sian Acreman headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 28 March 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Outstanding
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

90 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1176%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level26%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score107.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 81%81%20172018: 81%81%20182019: 79%79%20192023: 88%88%20232024: 81%81%20242025: 76%76%2025
Since 2017: -5%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017Tower HamletsEngland
Pupils tested908488858990
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths76%81%88%79%81%81%71%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths26%27%32%25%25%13%12%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0109.0110.0109.0108.0106.0107.0105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score107.0108.0109.0111.0109.0109.0106.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0109.0109.0113.0112.0112.0107.4105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard88%88%91%82%87%86%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard83%92%91%91%88%92%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)86%86%89%93%94%90%
Reading progressReading progress score+4.3+1.6+1.5-0.4
Maths progressMaths progress score+4.4+2.7+3.5+1.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged68%74%92%79%75%79%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged82%86%85%79%91%86%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
68%82%
Gap 14 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
71%80%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
76%76%
No gapEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
10%26%
Gap 16 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full353 pupils for 360 places, 2024/25
98% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Tower Hamlets council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll350Census January 2026
Places36097% full
Pupils from low-income families38%38% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English99%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support28%99 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan6%20 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.913 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)42%£224,750 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls190 / 160
White British pupils0%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (44), emotional and mental health (23), Moderate learning difficulty (20), Autistic spectrum disorder (15), Specific learning difficulty (7), Physical disability (4).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll350352350349356345
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals38%37%35%33%33%33%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language99%99%99%98%98%98%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support17%14%13%12%11%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%3%4%3%4%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school10.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.32024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.9%5.3%6.5%6.0%5.2%4.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.2%4.3%5.3%5.2%4.8%3.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.7%1.1%1.3%0.8%0.4%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence10.2%12.5%18.1%19.5%13.2%8.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.31.10.90.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers21.2full-time equivalent, 24 people
Pupils per teacher16.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£58,223
Teachers who left in the year6%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.02024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£8,497England £7,738. Total £3.0m
Income per pupil£8,742England £7,697. Total £3.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,211England £3,480
Money in reserve11%A healthy amount put by: £322k, £915 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£86kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£8,497spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1,61112 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate128 per 1,000 people41% higher than the England average
Typical house price£505,000Tower Hamlets
Nearest bus stop100 mShadwell DLR, 26 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Blue Gate Fields Infants' SchoolCouncil0 m336Not inspectedCompare
St Mary and St Michael Primary SchoolRoman Catholic360 m347Good 202364Compare
Bigland Green Primary SchoolCouncil480 m477Outstanding 202497Compare
St Peter's London Docks CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England500 m233Not inspected94Compare
Marion Richardson Primary SchoolCouncil680 m465Outstanding 202477Compare
St Paul's Whitechapel Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England800 m198Good 202467Compare
Harry Gosling Primary SchoolCouncil880 m407Good 202353Compare
Stepney Park Primary SchoolCouncil940 m689Good 202378Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Blue Gate Fields Junior School with the 49 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats88%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 93 is 53 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 40 · highest 100100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Blue Gate Fields Junior School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Iqra Primary SchoolMuslim5.1 miles235Outstanding 202499Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 93 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 93% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 88 to 96. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%well above
+0.29
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 90 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%well above
+0.36
DfE progress measure; 90 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.09
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.03
2024/25; 364 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.20
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 90 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Blue Gate Fields Junior School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Blue Gate Fields Junior School scores 93 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 88 to 96, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Blue Gate Fields Junior School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Blue Gate Fields Junior School good at its last full inspection on 28 March 2023.

How good are Blue Gate Fields Junior School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 76% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 26% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Blue Gate Fields Junior School have?

350 pupils aged 7 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 360 places, so it is 97% full.

Is Blue Gate Fields Junior School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Blue Gate Fields Junior School?

Pupils were in school 95.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 10% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Blue Gate Fields Junior School?

The average class had 26.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
King David Lane, Wapping, London, E1 0EH
Telephone
020 7790 3616
Website
www.bluegatefields-jun.towerhamlets.sch.uk
Headteacher
Ms Sian Acreman
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 7-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Tower Hamlets
Ward
Shadwell
Constituency
Bethnal Green and Stepney
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
100895 · LAESTAB 2112099 · UKPRN 10075068

Where these figures come from