Pimlico Academy - The School Companion

Pimlico Academy

Westminster · SW1V 3AT

General information Secondary School · 11-19 years Who goes here 1079 pupils, 58.3% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 5.5% on SEN support Behaviour 8.1% absence rate Staff 25.5% turnover Financials £10,523 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Pimlico Academy

General Information

Address: Lupus Street, Pimlico, London, SW1V 3AT – View on map
Phone: 02078280881
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Tony Macdowall
Age range: 11-19 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 136 families put it first for 205 places – 7 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 107 of the 205 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 6 · 2025 6 · 2026 7
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1079 pupils out of 1250 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 540
% eligible for free school meals: 58.3%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (more mixed than the Westminster average)
English as an additional language: 37% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 25.5% a year (Westminster 23.2%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 49% moved to another school, 51% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Westminster: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 25 (2.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 16 (1.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 9 (0.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Westminster, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 8.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.1%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

Resourced provision for Speech, language and communication 12 places · 12 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 5.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 21 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 16 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Physical disability: 5 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 20 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 11 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 8 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card February 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Exceptional
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Achievement Strong standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional
Sixth form (post-16) Strong standard
Leadership and governance Strong standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Attainment 8 score: 54.2
Compared with the area: in line with the Westminster average (54.3)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+14.2 points against an expected 40.0)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 76% (Westminster 76%, England 65%) Improving
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolWestminster averageEngland↗ Improving Up 3.5 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Westminster average (54.3).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

5th of 11 secondary schools in Westminster for Attainment 8

#3The St Marylebone CofE School61.0
#4St George's Catholic School55.9
#5Pimlico Academy54.2
#6Westminster City School52.1
#7Ark King Solomon Academy51.3

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1The Grey Coat Hospital66.6
#2Paddington Academy61.6
#3The St Marylebone CofE School61.0
#4St George's Catholic School55.9
#5Pimlico Academy54.2
#6Westminster City School52.1
#7Ark King Solomon Academy51.3
#8Harris Academy St John's Wood51.0
#9Marylebone Academy48.6
#10Westminster Academy48.3
#11St Augustine's Federated Schools: CE High School44.3

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 91.0%
Went into further education: 89.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
History
Spanish
French Language
Geography
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Computer Science
Community Development
Religious Studies
Speech & Drama
Latin
Food Technology
Music Studies (General)
Art & Design
Media Studies
Arabic
Photography
Classical Civilisation
Portuguese
Russian
Sports Studies
German
Greek
Persian Language

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £10,523 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

7th of 11 secondary schools in Westminster for spending per pupil

#5The St Marylebone CofE School£10,635
#6Westminster Academy£10,624
#7Pimlico Academy£10,523
#8Ark King Solomon Academy£9,925
#9St George's Catholic School£9,886

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Paddington Academy£12,909
#2Marylebone Academy£12,109
#3Westminster City School£10,671
#4St Augustine's Federated Schools: CE High School£10,660
#5The St Marylebone CofE School£10,635
#6Westminster Academy£10,624
#7Pimlico Academy£10,523
#8Ark King Solomon Academy£9,925
#9St George's Catholic School£9,886
#10Harris Academy St John's Wood£9,729
#11The Grey Coat Hospital£8,733

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Westminster: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered