The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School
Paragon Road, Hackney, London, E9 6NR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Oyedele Rotimi
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of London
- Constituency
- Hackney South and Shoreditch
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 752
- URN
- 100284
- Local authority
- Hackney
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02089852430
About this school
The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School is a Church of England voluntary aided secondary school in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 752 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 139 | 147 | 141 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.3 | 39.3 | 39.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.09 -0.16 to +0.34 | -0.26 -0.49 to -0.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 37% | 23.8% | 28.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 48.3% | 47.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 67% | 70.1% | 68.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Hackney average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.3 | 41.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.3 | 40.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.2 | 41.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 893 |
| 2023/24 | 831 |
| 2024/25 | 803 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School compares
The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School ranked 16th of 16 secondary schools in Hackney for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.2 | 10.5% | 70.5% | 752 | — |
| Cardinal Pole Catholic School | 42.9 | 8.4% | 65.8% | 980 | 0.3 miles |
| The City Academy, Hackney | 49.1 | 7.8% | 56.7% | 1,149 | 0.4 miles |
| Mossbourne Community Academy | 65.1 | 4.3% | 51.3% | 1,432 | 0.6 miles |
| Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy | 64.3 | 3.5% | 50.3% | 838 | 0.6 miles |
| Clapton Girls' Academy | 59.4 | 7.2% | 38.8% | 1,169 | 0.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
- 5 December 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report6 July 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 70.54%
- English as an additional language
- 31.3%
- Overall absence
- 10.47%
- Persistent absence
- 32.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cardinal Pole Catholic School0.3 miles
Secondary · London
-
The City Academy, Hackney0.4 miles
Secondary · London
-
Mossbourne Community Academy0.6 miles
Secondary · London
-
Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy0.6 miles
Secondary · London
-
Clapton Girls' Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School ranks 244th of the 258 ranked secondary schools in London.
- Acland Burghley School Secondary
- Ada Lovelace Church of England High School Secondary
- Addey and Stanhope School Secondary
- AIM Academy North London Secondary
- Alexandra Park School Secondary
- All Saints Catholic College Secondary
- All Saints Catholic High School Secondary
- Ark Acton Academy Secondary
- Ark All Saints Academy Secondary
- Ark Bolingbroke Academy Secondary
- Ark Burlington Danes Academy Secondary
- Ark Elvin Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School teach?
- The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School?
- The headteacher of The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School is Mr Oyedele Rotimi, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School?
- The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School has 752 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School full?
- The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 752 on roll (72%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School a faith school?
- Yes. The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of London.
- Is The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School a selective school?
- No. The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.3 in 2022/23 and 39.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School rank locally?
- The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School ranked 16th of 16 secondary schools in Hackney for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School's absence rate?
- The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.