Bower Park Academy
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Bower Park Academy is a converter academy in Romford for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 965 pupils, 2 more than it has places for. About 38 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 18 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 53% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Havering Road, Romford, RM1 4YY01708 730244bowerpark.co.ukMr Eddie Aylett headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 13 September 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
191 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Havering | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 191 | 200 | 176 | 144 | 147 | 119 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 37.7 | 41.4 | 40.8 | 39.6 | 44.0 | 35.2 | 48.1 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.54 | -0.66 | -0.94 | -0.10 | -0.44 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 31% | 45% | 41% | 29% | 44% | 21% | 49% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 52% | 62% | 58% | 51% | 65% | 45% | 70% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.22 | 3.70 | 3.65 | 3.55 | 3.89 | 3.03 | 4.36 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 37% | 61% | 70% | 49% | 29% | 35% | 61% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 29.7 | 32.3 | 33.1 | 31.9 | 36.1 | 32.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 41.2 | 46.4 | 44.5 | 43.6 | 47.9 | 37.0 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 20.8 | 26.8 | 25.6 | 16.4 | 19.9 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 60.3 | 52.9 | 61.7 | 58.3 | 51.9 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 17 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Computer Science (18% here, 56% across England), Religious Studies (30% here, 60% across England), Geography (22% here, 51% across England), Physical Education (27% here, 56% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 187 | 10% | 35% | 57% | 53% | 2,766 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 187 | 5% | 41% | 55% | 54% | 2,530 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 185 | 10% | 48% | 64% | 58% | 2,169 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 184 | 1% | 24% | 46% | 36% | 2,337 of 3,084 |
| History | 109 | 13% | 33% | 45% | 52% | 2,651 of 3,126 |
| Social Studies | 102 | 18% | 49% | 65% | 54% | 630 of 1,043 |
| Geography | 77 | 1% | 22% | 35% | 51% | 2,915 of 3,116 |
| French | 65 | 0% | 32% | 48% | 60% | 1,776 of 1,974 |
| Physical Education | 44 | 2% | 27% | 41% | 56% | 1,372 of 1,559 |
| Media / Film / TV | 40 | 13% | 35% | 50% | 55% | 491 of 580 |
| Art and Design | 38 | 11% | 37% | 84% | 58% | 2,340 of 2,818 |
| Design & Technology | 38 | 8% | 29% | 47% | 50% | 1,180 of 1,478 |
| Religious Studies | 27 | 15% | 30% | 63% | 60% | 1,740 of 1,825 |
| Drama | 23 | 13% | 48% | 65% | 60% | 633 of 844 |
| Computer Science | 22 | 0% | 18% | 46% | 56% | 1,785 of 1,861 |
| Other Modern Languages | 10 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 49% | – |
| Music | 8 | 13% | 38% | 50% | 61% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
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. 1 of the 3 gaps is 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 GCSE, 2025
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
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
About 173 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 6% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (204 offers for 210 places).
| Entry | Places | Applied at all | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 210 | 376 | 204 | – all offered | LA |
| 2025 Secondary | 210 | 351 | 191 | – all offered | LA |
| 2024 Secondary | 210 | 449 | 210 | 6.1 miles | LA |
| 2023 Secondary | 210 | 399 | 210 | – all offered | LA |
| 2022 Secondary | 210 | 483 | 210 | 1.4 miles | LA |
| 2021 Secondary | 210 | 482 | 210 | 2.4 miles | LA |
The distances are the council's own, usually measured in a straight line from home to the school gate. If the distance is getting shorter each year, the school is getting harder to get into. See which councils we have this data for.
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.
Specialist SEND provision. SEN unit with 5 pupils, for hearing impairment, visual impairment.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Havering with hearing impairment provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (59), Moderate learning difficulty (48), Autistic spectrum disorder (29), language and communications needs (27), Hearing impairment (6), Specific learning difficulty (6).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 965 | 1,016 | 1,025 | 998 | 948 | 913 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 38% | 36% | 35% | 31% | 29% | 27% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 20% | 17% | 15% | 13% | 14% | 13% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 11% | 11% | 10% | 8% | 6% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 6% | 5% | 4% | 3% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 10.9% | 12.7% | 11.4% | 12.1% | 5.1% | 5.9% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.0% | 7.9% | 8.2% | 9.5% | 4.0% | 4.1% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.9% | 4.8% | 3.2% | 2.6% | 1.2% | 1.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 32.2% | 36.4% | 34.1% | 40.1% | 14.6% | 12.8% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 38.2 | 25.4 | 23.2 | 23.1 | 5.4 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 176 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 79%, compared with 86% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 84% | 85% | 89% | 87% |
| Education | 80% | 76% | 78% | 85% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 6% | 7% | 1% |
| Work | 1% | 3% | 4% | 1% |
| Not in education, work or training | 11% | 11% | 7% | 13% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshalls Park Academy | Academy | 1.0 miles | 1,174 | Good 2020 | 31 | Compare |
| The Royal Liberty School | Academy | 1.8 miles | 749 | Good 2024 | 81 | Compare |
| The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls | Academy | 2.3 miles | 1,381 | No overall grade 2024 | 80 | Compare |
| St Edward's Church of England Academy | Academy | 2.5 miles | 918 | Report card 2026 | 49 | Compare |
| Redden Court School | Academy | 2.5 miles | 1,058 | Outstanding 2022 | 83 | Compare |
| Drapers' Academy | Academy | 2.6 miles | 1,196 | No overall grade 2025 | 30 | Compare |
| The Warren School | Academy | 2.6 miles | 1,392 | Outstanding 2024 | 81 | Compare |
| The Campion School | Academy | 2.7 miles | 1,235 | Report card 2026 | 83 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Bower Park Academy with the 17 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 17 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 17 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Bower Park Academy, 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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick Bremer School | Council | 8.0 miles | 888 | Good 2024 | 47 | Compare |
| Willowfield School | Council | 9.6 miles | 1,035 | Report card 2026 | 46 | Compare |
| Leigh Academy Ebbsfleet | Academy | 12.7 miles | 788 | Good 2019 | 36 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 18 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 18% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 12 to 23. 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 at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | below | -0.13 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 191 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 3.0 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | below | -0.20 | DfE progress measure; 191 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | -0.03 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | below | -0.09 | 2024/25; 1,063 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well below | -0.13 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 191 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | well below | -0.06 | 176 pupils |
| What parents say | 0% | 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 Bower Park Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. Bower Park Academy scores 18 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 53% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 12 to 23, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Bower Park Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Bower Park Academy good at its last full inspection on 13 September 2023.
How good are Bower Park Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 31% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 37.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished most of a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Bower Park Academy have?
965 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 963 places, so it is 100% full.
Is Bower Park Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 173 places were empty in 2024/25 (15% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Bower Park Academy?
Pupils were in school 89.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 32% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Bower Park Academy?
The average class had 22.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 8% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Bower Park Academy have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has sen unit for hearing impairment, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Bower Park Academy have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 84% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Havering Road, Romford, RM1 4YY
- Telephone
- 01708 730244
- Website
- www.bowerpark.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Eddie Aylett
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Empower Learning Academy Trust (6 schools)
- Local authority
- Havering
- Ward
- Havering-atte-Bower
- Constituency
- Romford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 February 2013 (academy converter)
- URN
- 139307 · LAESTAB 3114042 · UKPRN 10040295
- Formerly
- Bower Park School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Havering council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.