The happiest school in Lewisham is Forest Hill School, where 94 per cent of parents said they felt satisfied with their children’s happiness.
The findings were based data from Ofsted’s Parent’s Views Survey between 2020 and 2025 where parents gave a satisfaction rating for how they felt about their child’s happiness.
This was followed by Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College with 87 per cent rating and Sydenham School with a 75 per cent rating.
The analysis found that parents overwhelmingly felt their children were happy at these schools.
Each year, more than 500,000 parents complete these surveys, but the analysis focused on the year in which each school had the highest number of responses, often coinciding with an Ofsted inspection, as schools actively encourage participation during this period.
To ensure reliability, only state secondary schools with at least 500 places and a minimum of 100 parent responses in a single year were included, narrowing the field to 1,934 schools out of over 4,000 across England and Wales.
However, some schools were not included in the ranking as they did not receive enough parent responses to meet the analysis criteria.
Forest Hill School
Parents gave the school a 94 per cent satisfaction rating.
Rated Good overall by Ofsted, the school was described as having students that were “safe and happy” that also “achieve well”.
25 percent of the school’s grades last year were grades 7 – 9, above the national average, and 54.6 per cent of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs, above the local authority average.
ated Good overall by Ofsted, the school was described as having students that were “safe and happy” that also “achieve well”. (Image: Forest Hill School) Moving onto A Levels, in 2024 the school recorded “some of their strongest” results in “recent history” with 28 per cent of grades being A*-A, 54 percent A-B and 78 percent A*-C, outperforming national figures at all levels.
The school has partnered with the Tellmi App to further support the mental health and wellbeing of their students, with users able to anonymously share their concerns and receive replies from vetted professionals.
Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College
Parents gave the school an 87 per cent satisfaction rating.
The college was rated Good by Ofsted during previous inspections and was described as a “highly ambitious school” that enabled a “purposeful atmosphere”.
In 2024, 73 per cent of the students achieved a grade 4 or above in English and Maths, with 20 percent of students achieving grades 7 – 9 in all subjects.
23 per cent of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 5 or above, which was above the national average last year.
For A Level results, 54 per cent of the grades secured by the students were A* to B and more than a quarter of those were A* to A.
Sydenham School
Parents gave the school a 75 per cent satisfaction rating,
Rated Good by Ofsted, their most recent report on the school outlined that students felt “happy and safe” studying there and expressed a sense of pride in the school.
In 2024, 68 per cent of students achieved grade 4 and above in English and Maths, and 48 percent of students were graded 5 and above in these subjects.
14 per cent of all entries gained a grade 8 – 9 (equivalent to A*), and 28 percent of students received a grade 7 (equivalent to A or above).
For A Levels, 29 percent of all results were A grades and 56 per cent of all entries were graded between A and B, with many students going on to study at Cambridge, King’s College London and Sheffield University to name a few.
