School Chooser

Drumbeat School and ASD Service

Special · ages 4-19MixedCouncil298 pupilsSixth formLondonLewisham
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance90.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families53%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull298 pupils, 275 places
Pupils per teacher6.9School workforce census
Pupils on roll298Census January 2026

Drumbeat School and ASD Service is a council special school in London for boys and girls aged 4 to 19. It has 298 pupils, 23 more than it has places for. About 53 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.

Roundtable Rd & Revelon Rd & Turnham Road, Downham and Brockley, London, BR1 5LE020 8698 9738drumbeatasd.orgMrs Marie Neave executive headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

6 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE scoreOfficial name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and mathsOfficial name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and mathsOfficial name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-1.72In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2015/16, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018LewishamEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 116101510816

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

14 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 110%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score85.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score81.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 0%0%20172018: 0%0%20182023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2017: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017LewishamEngland
Pupils tested14162341613
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%69%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score85.082.0106.4105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score81.084.082.0105.5104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score86.085.083.0106.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%0%0%
Reading progressReading progress score-5.5+0.0+1.3
Maths progressMaths progress score-5.3+1.1+0.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged0%0%0%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged0%0%0%

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.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

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 Lewisham council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll298Census January 2026
Places275108% full
Pupils from low-income families54%53% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English29%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%298 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)52%£185,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls237 / 61
White British pupils20%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism.

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 Lewisham with autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (296), Other difficulty or disability (1), language and communications needs (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll298294274231225211
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals54%51%49%54%52%52%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language29%30%29%29%29%30%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance90.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school27.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.4%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence9.4%9.2%10.3%9.9%18.1%7.2%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence8.0%8.6%9.6%9.5%17.9%6.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.4%0.7%0.7%0.4%0.2%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence27.6%29.1%33.3%35.1%71.0%21.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 15 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training100%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 100%, compared with – for everyone else.

Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training100%100%100%100%
Education100%100%100%100%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%0%
Work0%0%0%0%
Not in education, work or training0%0%0%0%

Staff and money

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

Teachers43.3full-time equivalent, 45 people
Pupils per teacher6.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers93%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants114.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£62,801
Teachers who left in the year8%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher6.32024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£35,457England £32,258. Total £10m
Income per pupil£34,530England £32,367. Total £10m
Spent on teachers per pupil£11,994England £11,930
Money in reserve-1%In the red: -£118k, -£400 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out-£272kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£35,457spent 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 m65312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate92 per 1,000 peopleabout the England average
Typical house price£470,000Lewisham
Nearest bus stop260 mWhitefoot Lane, 10 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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Haberdashers' Knights PrimaryAcademy260 m207Good 202360Compare
Haberdashers' Knights AcademyAcademy580 m1,098Good 202360Compare
Greenvale SchoolCouncil600 m216Outstanding 2023Compare
Forster Park Primary SchoolCouncil620 m269No overall grade 202436Compare
Good Shepherd RC SchoolRoman Catholic700 m201No overall grade 202512Compare
Launcelot Primary School and NurseryCouncil700 m307Report card 20269Compare
Cooper's Lane Primary SchoolCouncil770 m646Good 202251Compare
New Woodlands SchoolCouncil830 m101Not inspectedCompare

Questions parents ask

Is Drumbeat School and ASD Service a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Drumbeat School and ASD Service yet.

How good are Drumbeat School and ASD Service's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Drumbeat School and ASD Service have?

298 pupils aged 4 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 275 places, so it is 108% full.

What is attendance like at Drumbeat School and ASD Service?

Pupils were in school 90.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 28% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Drumbeat School and ASD Service have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for autism. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

Does Drumbeat School and ASD Service have a sixth form?

Yes.

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

Contact and details

Address
Roundtable Rd & Revelon Rd & Turnham Road, Downham and Brockley, London, BR1 5LE
Telephone
020 8698 9738
Website
www.drumbeatasd.org
Executive Headteacher
Mrs Marie Neave
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 4-19, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Lewisham
Ward
Downham
Constituency
Lewisham East
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2012 (new provision)
URN
136423 · LAESTAB 2097183 · UKPRN 10038787

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from