School Chooser

Thomas Gamuel Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedAcademy338 pupilsNurseryLondonWaltham Forest
School Chooser Score
90
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 81 to 95
Out of 100. Better than 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, January 2026
Reached the expected level at 1183%England 63%
Attendance94.4%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families31%A bit more than most schools
Parents would recommend96%25 Parent View responses
Places82 spare338 pupils, 420 places

Thomas Gamuel Primary School is a sponsored academy in London for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 338 pupils and room for 420. About 31 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. We give it 90 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in January 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Colchester Road, Walthamstow, London, E17 8LG020 8520 7031thomasgamuel.netMr Paul Acheson executive principalAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 13 January 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
Strong
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
As expected
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
As expected
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
Strong
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
Strong
Early years
Strong
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
26 November 2021UngradedSchool remains Good

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1183%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level21%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score109.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score108.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 51%51%20172018: 65%65%20182019: 69%69%20192023: 78%78%20232024: 81%81%20242025: 83%83%2025
Since 2017: +32%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017Waltham ForestEngland
Pupils tested423645495153
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths83%81%78%69%65%51%75%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths21%25%20%6%8%2%16%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score109.0107.0109.0103.0104.0102.0107.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score108.0107.0109.0105.0106.0101.0107.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score111.0109.0111.0104.0107.0104.0108.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard93%86%91%71%71%64%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard90%92%89%84%82%64%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)83%83%80%82%78%75%
Reading progressReading progress score+3.7-1.6+0.6+0.4
Maths progressMaths progress score+3.9-0.4+2.9-0.6
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged75%79%78%62%53%35%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged88%82%78%78%69%63%

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
75%88%
Gap 13 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
81%86%
Gap 5 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
92%83%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%21%
Gap 21 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 places309 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
74% full

111 places were empty (26% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. 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 Waltham Forest council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

What parents say

Would recommend the school96%England 87%
My child is happy here92%agree or strongly agree
My child feels safe88%
Positive overall91%
My child is happy at this school
92%England 89%
My child feels safe at this school
88%England 90%
Pupils are well behavedThe school makes sure its pupils are well behaved
88%England 83%
Has your child been bullied here?Parents answering yes
12% yesEngland 18%
Bullying was dealt with quickly and effectivelyOnly parents whose child was bullied
100%England 50%
My child gets the right support to learn well
88%England 85%
Does your child have SEND?Parents answering yes
32% yesEngland 26%
The school gives them the support they needOnly parents of children with SEND
88%England 71%
The school communicates well with me
92%England 80%
My concerns have been dealt with properlyWhen I have raised concerns
84%England 69%
Decisions put the child's best interests first
84%England 82%
I would recommend this school
96%England 87%
Overall view of the school is positive
91%England 82%
Strongly agreeAgreeDon't knowDisagreeStrongly disagreeEngland, agree or yes

From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 25 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for primary schools with enough answers to publish.

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 roll338Census January 2026
Places42080% full
Pupils from low-income families28%31% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English73%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support18%59 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan7%25 pupils with a plan
Average class size23.014 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils7%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)31%£141,050 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls178 / 160
White British pupils4%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 21.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 24.3 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (42), Autistic spectrum disorder (21), emotional and mental health (13), Other difficulty or disability (2), Specific learning difficulty (2), Hearing impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll338347382371351336
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals28%24%30%33%27%22%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language73%61%70%70%70%73%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support12%13%12%13%13%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans6%5%5%3%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.4%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school14.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission3.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.6%5.5%6.7%6.1%5.4%4.7%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence1.9%1.3%2.4%2.5%2.9%2.9%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence3.7%4.2%4.3%3.6%2.5%1.9%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence14.8%15.3%21.9%17.0%16.0%10.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.30.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers15.0full-time equivalent, 16 people
Pupils per teacher21.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers88%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,485
Teachers who left in the year20%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher6.92024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£8,227England £7,128. Total £2.7m
Income per pupil£8,064England £7,587. Total £2.7m
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,612England £3,405
Money in reserve13%A healthy amount put by: £332k, £1,005 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out-£54kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£8,227spent 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 m1,00412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate108 per 1,000 people18% higher than the England average
Typical house price£530,000Waltham Forest
Nearest bus stop370 mManor Road (E10), 8 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
Edinburgh Primary SchoolCouncil350 m153Good 202462Compare
St Saviour's Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy560 m356Outstanding 201997Compare
South Grove Primary SchoolCouncil650 m485Outstanding 202494Compare
Sybourn Primary SchoolAcademy660 m521Outstanding 202398Compare
St Joseph's Catholic Junior SchoolRoman Catholic850 m107Good 202358Compare
Barn Croft Primary SchoolCouncil930 m170No overall grade 202582Compare
George Mitchell SchoolAcademy970 m973Good 202353Compare
Riverley Primary SchoolAcademy1000 m437Outstanding 202399Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Thomas Gamuel 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.

Beats88%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 90 is 30 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 6 · middle 61 · highest 96100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 90 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 90% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 81 to 95. 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%above
+0.22
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 42 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.06
Ofsted report card, 0.7 years old
Progress pupils make20%well above
+0.24
DfE progress measure; 42 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.02
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
-0.03
2024/25; 278 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.16
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 42 pupils
What parents say5%above
+0.03
Ofsted's Parent View survey, allowing for how many parents replied; 25 responses

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 Thomas Gamuel Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Thomas Gamuel Primary School scores 90 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 81 to 95, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Thomas Gamuel Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 13 January 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as strong, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as strong.

How good are Thomas Gamuel Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 83% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 21% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Thomas Gamuel Primary School have?

338 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 80% full.

Is Thomas Gamuel Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 111 places were empty in 2024/25 (26% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Thomas Gamuel Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 15% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

What do parents say about Thomas Gamuel Primary School?

96% of the 25 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 92% say their child is happy there. Across England, 87% of parents would recommend their child's school.

How big are the classes at Thomas Gamuel Primary School?

The average class had 23.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 7% of classes 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
Colchester Road, Walthamstow, London, E17 8LG
Telephone
020 8520 7031
Website
www.thomasgamuel.net
Executive Principal
Mr Paul Acheson
Type of school
Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Lion Academy Trust (11 schools)
Local authority
Waltham Forest
Ward
Markhouse
Constituency
Walthamstow
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2014 (new provision)
URN
140405 · LAESTAB 3202037 · UKPRN 10044183
Formerly
Thomas Gamuel Primary School

Where these figures come from