Southwark's schools are excellent, and almost nobody moves here because of them. Across the borough, every school Ofsted has graded is good or outstanding except one. The nearest primary is about five minutes' walk from the average home. Fewer than one household in ten is a couple with children. A district built for commuters turns out to have the classrooms as well.
There are 13 state primaries in the area, and their pupils average about 107 in the Key Stage 2 maths test. They include Charles Dickens Primary School, Tower Bridge Primary School and The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overie. On the Department for Transport's 2019 modelling, the nearest primary is about a five-minute walk. Tower Bridge Primary School is named after the bridge its pupils will spend years walking round tourists to get across.
The area's eight state secondaries have a pupil-weighted Attainment 8 score of about 48. They include Haberdashers' Borough Academy and London Nautical, City of London Academy. On the same 2019 modelling, the nearest secondary is about a seven-minute walk, so the move from primary to secondary adds a couple of minutes, not a bus pass. London Nautical is the one school round here whose name suggests the river might be on the timetable.
Ofsted has given a published grade to 47 schools across the Southwark council area, and 46 of them are rated good or outstanding, which is all but one. Fifteen are outstanding, one requires improvement and none is inadequate. Another 41 settings in the borough don't yet have a published grade, so they aren't counted on either side. For most families in Southwark, the choice is between good and outstanding.
Southwark council allocates places under its published admissions rules, and a flat with a view of a school gate doesn't guarantee a seat in its classrooms. Families who assume otherwise usually find out on offer day. The useful step is to ask the council's admissions team how recent offers for your shortlisted schools were decided, while you're still choosing between flats. That conversation costs nothing, and assuming instead can cost you the school you moved for.
Southwark's schools are the best thing about it. With almost every graded school rated good or outstanding and the nearest one a few minutes' walk away, families here have the easiest choice in the district.