Big Creative Independent School
0.5 miles9 pupils
State-funded · Secondary · Waltham Forest
Willowfield School
Community school · Ages 11 to 16 · Mixed · 1,035 pupils
Closes in 21 days Application deadline 31 October 2026
At a glance
- Type
- Community school (state-funded)
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 1,035 census January 2026
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Headteacher
- Ms Rebecca Linden
- Address
- 209 Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow, London, E17 6ND
- Borough
- Waltham Forest
- Telephone
- 02085274065
- DfE reference (URN)
- 103100
- Website
- willowfield-school.co.uk
Source: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools · daily extract as at 2026-10-07 · last checked 9 October 2026
Where leavers went
Official destination measures after GCSEs (key stage 4)
| Staying in education or employment for at least 2 terms after key stage 4 | 94% |
|---|---|
| In a sustained education destination | 93% |
| Going to a school sixth form | 23% |
| Going to a sixth-form college | 41% |
| Going to a further education college or other FE provider | 28% |
| In a sustained apprenticeship | 0% |
| In sustained employment | 1% |
| Whose destination was not sustained | 4% |
Source: Department for Education, Compare school and college performance · 2022/23 cohort · last checked 9 October 2026 · 171 leavers, cohort that left in 2022/23
These are destinations schools have published for past leavers. They describe what happened, not what will happen for any one child. How to read this.
Key dates for 2027 entry
Year 7 (11+)
- Application deadlineSaturday 31 October 2026Closes in 21 days
National closing date for Year 7 applications: Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply through your home borough's coordinated scheme (eAdmissions), not directly to the school.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 9 Oct 2026
- National offer dayMonday 1 March 2027Upcoming
Secondary National Offer Day: Monday 1 March 2027. Offers are released by your home borough.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 9 Oct 2026
- Accept your offerDate not statedDate not stated
Accept the offer by the deadline given in your offer letter; your home borough sets the date.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 9 Oct 2026
Get a reminder before Willowfield School's deadlines
One email 14, 7 and 1 day before each dated deadline we hold. No account needed.
A status ("Closes in 12 days") is shown only for a closing date we have checked, worked out from today's date, 10 October 2026. Other dates are printed as the school published them, with its own wording beside them. Dates given only as "early January" are shown as approximate and never counted down. Always confirm with the school or council.
Admissions
You apply through the council where you live, not to the school, naming up to six schools in order on one form. Every applicant on time hears on the same national offer day.
124 first-preference applications and 459 applications naming it at any preference for 200 places offered (September 2026 entry, DfE)
| Entry | Places offered | First preferences | All preferences |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 200 | 124 | 459 |
| September 2025 | 195 | 140 | 462 |
| September 2024 | 197 | 164 | 546 |
| September 2023 | 198 | 178 | 505 |
These are counts of applications and offers on national offer day. They are not a chance of getting in: places are allocated by the school's published admissions criteria, such as siblings, distance or faith.
Source: Department for Education, Secondary and primary school applications and offers · entry years up to 2026/27 · last checked 9 October 2026
Waltham Forest: Year 7 offers, September 2026 entry
Across the borough, 79.5% of applicants were offered their first preference and 96.3% were offered one of their preferences (2,724 applications). These are borough-wide figures, not a forecast for any school or child.
Source: Department for Education, Secondary and primary schools applications and offers 2026 · entry years 2014/15 to 2026/27 (release published 2026-06-18) · last checked 9 October 2026
Inspection
Ofsted report card, inspected 20 January 2026
Ofsted no longer gives a single overall grade. The report card grades each area on a five-point scale.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
Safeguarding standards: Met.
Ofsted ungraded inspection, 6 October 2021: School remains Good
An ungraded inspection confirms or questions the previous grade; it does not set a new one.
Last overall grade: Good, given on 11 January 2012
Historic. This is the last time Ofsted gave the school a single overall grade. Overall grades were abolished for state schools in September 2024.
Source: Ofsted, Management information - state-funded schools - latest inspections as at 31 August 2026 · latest inspections as at 2026-08-31 · last checked 9 October 2026
Results
GCSE (key stage 4), 2024/25
- Attainment 8 score2022/23: 46.7 · 2023/24: 48.146.1This school45.3Waltham Forest46.1England, state-funded
- % achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs2022/23: 51% · 2023/24: 53%55%This school46%Waltham Forest45%England, state-funded
- % achieving grade 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs2022/23: 69% · 2023/24: 73%71%This school63%Waltham Forest65%England, state-funded
- % entering the English Baccalaureate2022/23: 32% · 2023/24: 40%34%This school43%Waltham Forest40%England, state-funded
- EBacc average point score2022/23: 4.05 · 2023/24: 4.284.06This school4.04Waltham Forest4.09England, state-funded
Source: Department for Education, Compare school and college performance · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026 · academic year 2024/25 · 175 pupils in the cohort
Pupils and context
- Eligible for free school meals
- 34.6% January 2026
- English as an additional language
- 26.4%
- Receiving SEN support
- 19.8%
- With an Education, Health and Care Plan
- 4.5%
- Girls / boys
- 38% / 62%
Source: Department for Education, Compare school and college performance · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026 · school census 2024/25
Attendance and staffing
- Overall absence
- 8.8% 2024/25
- Persistently absent (missed 10% or more)
- 28.8%
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.6 2025/26
Source: Department for Education, Absence rates by school level · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026
Places
- Places
- 1,020
- Pupils on roll
- 1,005
Source: Department for Education, Capacity - school / Sixth form capacity - school · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026 · position at 1 May, 2024/25
Nearby schools
Schools covering the same ages within about a mile, by straight-line distance (not walking or travel time).
Eden Girls' School, Waltham Forest
0.6 miles617 pupils · Attainment 8 63.5 (2024/25)
Applications: closes in 21 days (31 Oct 2026)
Kelmscott School
0.9 miles1,137 pupils · Attainment 8 43.7 (2024/25)
Applications: closes in 21 days (31 Oct 2026)
Compare with similar schools
Side-by-side comparisons with the nearest schools of the same type. Sourced facts only; no winner is declared.