This part of our guide to education in Hammersmith gives details of state and independent primary schools within 10 minutes’ walk of Hammersmith Tube Station. Unless stated, every school listed in this part of our guide, teaches girls and boys aged between three and 11. If you think we have missed out a primary school in Hammersmith, please contact Lawsons and Daughters.
ARK BENTWORTH PRIMARY ACADEMY
This non-denominational and non-selective Academy aims to ensure that each of its 214 pupils is “given equal opportunities to learn and achieve at the highest level”. The school’s website states: “We provide an inspiring yet nurturing learning environment where teachers really know pupils and their parents, and every child can flourish. We aim to enable all our pupils to realise their full potential and provide them with every opportunity to succeed.”
Ofsted rating (2014): Good
BRACKENBURY PRIMARY SCHOOL
This 505-pupil community school might be housed in a large building built in 1879, but every classroom contains up-to-date resources and the latest technology including interactive computerised white boards. Facilities also include a full computer suite, art room, music room, flexible hall for music, drama and parent activities, large hall for performances and PE, and ‘The Shed’ which is a large performance space.
Ofsted rating (2009): Outstanding
BUTE HOUSE PREPARATORY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
This fee-paying, single-sex school for children aged between four and 11 has 307 pupils. It is well known for producing enviable senior school exit results, with about a third of girls at Bute House moving on to the St Paul’s Girls’ School each year. The school prides itself for its non-competitive ethos and instead of ranking its pupils encourages them to work towards individual targets to meet their personal best.
Ofsted does not carry out inspections of independent schools.
FLORA GARDENS PRIMARY SCHOOL
The 257 pupils (including 38 in the nursery class) at this community school come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Flora Gardens enjoys a good reputation among parents in the Hammersmith area for its friendliness, high standards, care for pupils and outside space, which includes a wild garden, vegetable plots for each of the eight classes and an orchard. Inside the classrooms, the school provides a broad curriculum, with a focus on English, maths, science and ICT.
Ofsted rating (2015): Requires improvement
MELCOMBE PRIMARY SCHOOL
In 2014, Melcombe was among the 27 of the 36 primary schools in Hammersmith & Fulham to achieve value-added scores greater than 100, indicating that children at those schools made better progress than similar pupils nationally. Melcombe website states that the 375 pupils at this community school are taught in a “challenging, stimulating and secure environment where the emphasis is on high expectations and quality learning outcomes”.
Ofsted rating (2013): Outstanding
ST AUGUSTINE’S RC PRIMARY SCHOOL
This Roman Catholic primary school has 205 pupils and encourages parents to become actively involved in its collective mission to improve the standards of education it provides. Like Melcombe, St Augustine’s was also among the 27 of the 36 primary schools in Hammersmith & Fulham to achieve value-added scores greater than 100. Extra-curricular activities include after-school Italian lessons.
Ofsted rating (2013): Outstanding
WEST LONDON FREE SCHOOL
Opened in 2013 with two reception classes of 30 pupils each, this school is currently on its way to filling each year group by 2020. The primary school serves as a feeder to the secondary school run by the same charitable trust that set up the West London Free School Secondary and aims to deliver an old-fashioned prep school-style education with the emphasis on academic attainment.
Ofsted rating (2015): Outstanding
SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN HAMMERSMITH
This part of our guide to education in Hammersmith gives details of state and independent secondary schools within 10 minutes’ walk of Hammersmith Tube Station. Unless stated, every school listed in this part of our guide, teaches girls and boys aged between 11 and 18. If you think we have missed out a secondary school in Hammersmith, please contact Lawsons and Daughters.
HAMMERSMITH ACADEMY
This non-denominational, all-ability, co-educational school opened in September 2011 and is sponsored by The Mercers’ Company and The Information Technologists’ Company. Facilities include a large theatre, drama and dance studios, digital editing and IT suites, library, fitness suite, four-bay sports hall, multiuse games area plus art and design, science and technology spaces.
Ofsted rating (2013): Good
LATYMER UPPER SCHOOL
A record 30 students from this fully co-educational school won places at Oxford or Cambridge University last year, with two-thirds achieving A*s or As at A-level. It has a total of 1,339 pupils aged between seven and 18 and focuses on both the academic achievement and the personal development of each and every pupil into well-rounded and caring citizens of the future.
Independent schools do not undergo Ofsted inspections.
SACRED HEART SCHOOL
This Catholic girls’ school was founded in 1893 by the Society of the Sacred Heart but has now converted to academy status. In January 2014, Hammersmith and Fulham Council reported that 91% of pupils achieved five A*-C grades at GCSE. That was an improvement of 6% on the previous year. They also improved by 2% in the English Baccalaureate.
No Ofsted inspection has been carried out since Sacred Heart School converted to academy status in 2012.
ST PAUL’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL
This fee-paying school has 745 pupils and boasts enviable exam results. In 2014, 99.3% of GCSEs were graded at A*s or As, with 93.6% graded at A* alone. This was the highest ever A* percentage achieved in the country. The 2014 A level results were also the highest in the school’s history with 54.9% of entries achieving an A* grade and 91.3% of entries achieving A* or A grades.
Independent schools do not undergo Ofsted inspections.
THE GODOLPHIN AND LATYMER SCHOOL
Facilities at this fee-paying girls’ school include a full-size hockey pitch, space for performing arts in the church next door and a wide-ranging programme of extra-curricular activities. Not only that, its 774 pupils are encouraged to develop ways of thinking that promote curiosity and initiative, which helps explain its enviable GCSE and A Level results.
Independent schools do not undergo Ofsted inspections.
WEST LONDON FREE SCHOOL
Opened in 2011, this non-selective co-educational school that is funded by the taxpayer says it offers its 360 pupils a “classical liberal” education. The school describes this as expecting “every pupil to study a core of academically rigorous subjects, regardless of background or ability, but with plenty of art, music, drama and sport thrown in”.
Ofsted rating (2013): Good
