School Chooser

Oak Gardens Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil166 pupils Free breakfast clubLondonLewisham
School Chooser Score
49
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 27 to 70
Out of 100. Better than 56% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, January 2023
Reached the expected level at 1171%England 63%
Attendance93.2%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families45%Far more than most schools
Places44 spare166 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher20.8School workforce census

Oak Gardens Primary School is a council school in London for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 166 pupils and room for 210. About 45 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 49 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 56% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Thornville Street, London, SE8 4QB020 8692 4660oakgardens.lewisham.sch.ukMr Dean Gordon headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 17 January 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

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

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1171%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level6%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score104.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 50%50%20172018: 39%39%20182019: 40%40%20192023: 64%64%20232024: 63%63%20242025: 71%71%2025
Since 2017: +21%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017LewishamEngland
Pupils tested344639475944
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths71%63%64%40%39%50%69%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths6%7%0%4%3%5%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0106.0106.0103.0102.0102.0106.4105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score104.0102.0101.0105.0102.0105.0105.5104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score103.0105.0105.0105.0104.0106.0106.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard79%83%79%66%53%59%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard79%74%77%68%61%77%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)76%70%67%45%69%80%
Reading progressReading progress score+4.0-1.8-5.3-3.3
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.1-2.3-4.6-0.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged60%42%58%23%32%44%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged86%90%77%56%48%59%

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. None of the 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 the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
60%86%
Gap 26 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
53%84%
Gap 31 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
78%71%
Gap 7 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%6%
Gap 6 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.

Plenty of spare places176 pupils for 466 places, 2024/25
38% full

290 places were empty (62% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 29% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

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 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 roll166Census January 2026
Places21079% full
Pupils from low-income families45%45% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English46%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support17%28 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan6%10 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.56 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%£106,950 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls91 / 75
White British pupils11%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 22.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 25.8 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (19), emotional and mental health (14), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Specific learning difficulty (2), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll166184220253264330
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals45%47%51%46%46%39%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language46%49%49%50%51%54%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support15%21%15%15%13%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%1%3%3%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.2%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school21.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.8%6.3%6.0%4.7%4.5%3.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.7%3.7%4.2%2.9%2.9%2.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.0%2.6%1.8%1.8%1.6%1.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence21.6%20.3%21.5%15.0%12.5%6.3%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.50.00.01.10.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers8.0full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher20.8Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,931
Teachers who left in the year22%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.52024/25

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£10,657England £7,738. Total £2.0m
Income per pupil£11,688England £7,697. Total £2.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,066England £3,480
Money in reserve-34%In the red: -£736k, -£4,000 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£190kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£10,657spent 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 m1,30912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate133 per 1,000 people47% higher than the England average
Typical house price£470,000Lewisham
Nearest bus stop140 mLucas Street, 21 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
Myatt Garden Primary SchoolCouncil270 m357Not inspected89Compare
St Stephen's CofE Primary SchoolAcademy270 m186Good 202231Compare
Ashmead Primary SchoolCouncil340 m390Good 202280Compare
Tidemill AcademyAcademy720 m427Good 202283Compare
St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy750 m151Good 202388Compare
St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic820 m122Good 202370Compare
Childeric Primary SchoolAcademy890 m334Good 202370Compare
Morden Mount Primary SchoolCouncil970 m383Good 202376Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Oak Gardens Primary School with the 48 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 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats56%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 49 is 10 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 39 · highest 96100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Oak Gardens Primary 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
St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy750 m151Good 202388Compare
Riverside Primary SchoolCouncil2.5 miles219Good 202376Compare
Nightingale Primary SchoolAcademy4.3 miles224Report card 202690Compare
St Peter's CofE SchoolChurch of England8.1 miles192Outstanding 202380Compare
Holy Trinity CofE Primary SchoolAcademy8.3 miles195Outstanding 202293Compare
Miles Coverdale Primary SchoolCouncil8.9 miles197Outstanding 202495Compare
Roehampton Church Forest Primary SchoolChurch of England9.2 miles130Good 202362Compare
St Matthew's CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England11.9 miles195Good 202359Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 49 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 49% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 27 to 70. 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%in line
-0.04
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 34 pupils
Ofsted inspection18% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.7 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
+0.04
DfE progress measure; 34 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.03
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well below
-0.11
2024/25; 176 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.05
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 34 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 Oak Gardens Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Oak Gardens Primary School scores 49 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 56% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 27 to 70, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Oak Gardens Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Oak Gardens Primary School good at its last full inspection on 17 January 2023.

How good are Oak Gardens Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 71% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 6% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Oak Gardens Primary School have?

166 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 79% full.

Is Oak Gardens Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 290 places were empty in 2024/25 (62% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Oak Gardens Primary School?

Pupils were in school 93.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 22% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Oak Gardens Primary School?

The average class had 24.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Oak Gardens Primary School have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

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

Contact and details

Address
Thornville Street, London, SE8 4QB
Telephone
020 8692 4660
Website
www.oakgardens.lewisham.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Dean Gordon
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Lewisham
Ward
Brockley
Constituency
Lewisham North
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
100695 · LAESTAB 2092390 · UKPRN 10074632

Where these figures come from