London Borough of Tower Hamlets - Education

Education

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the local education authority for state schools within the borough. As of January 2008 there are 19,890 primary-school pupils and 15,262 secondary-school pupils attending state schools in Tower Hamlets. Independent-school pupils account for 2.4 percent of schoolchildren in the borough. In 2010 51.8 percent of pupils achieved 5 A*–C GCSEs including Mathematics and English—the highest results in the borough's history—compared to the national average of 53.4 percent. Seventy-four percent achieved 5 A*–C GCSEs for all subjects (the same as the English average); the figure in 1997 was 26 percent. The percentage of pupils on free school meals in the borough is the highest in England and Wales. In 2007 the council rejected proposals to build a Goldman Sachs-sponsored academy.

Schools in the borough have high levels of racial segregation. The Times reported in 2006 that 47 percent of secondary schools were exclusively non-white, and that 33 percent had a white majority. About 60 percent of pupils entering primary and secondary school are Bangladeshi. The percentage of primary-school pupils who speak English as a second language is 78.

The council runs several Idea Stores in the borough, which combine traditional library services with other resources, and are designed to attract more diverse members. The flagship Whitechapel store was designed by David Adjaye and cost £16 million to build.