Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre
Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, London, N4 2DR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 0 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sandeep McNicholl
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Islington North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 508
- Pupils on roll
- 515
- URN
- 100397
- Local authority
- Islington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02072264708
About this school
Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre is a community primary school in London. It teaches children aged 0 to 11 and has 515 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 59 | 59 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 80% | 80% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 12% | 10% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 98% | 93% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 88% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 95% | 92% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 111.0 | 111.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 110.0 | 109.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.50 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Islington average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 80% | 63% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 80% | 64.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 63.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 505 |
| 2023/24 | 523 |
| 2024/25 | 525 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre compares
Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre ranked 12th of 40 primary schools in Islington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 4% | 34.1% | 515 | — |
| Gillespie Primary School | 89% | 3.6% | 13.7% | 227 | 0.2 miles |
| Parkwood Primary School | 59% | 6.1% | 48.2% | 190 | 0.2 miles |
| St John's Highbury Vale CofE Primary School | 62% | 3.8% | 35.1% | 206 | 0.3 miles |
| St Joan of Arc RC Primary School | 71% | 4.2% | 31.5% | 427 | 0.5 miles |
| Pooles Park Primary School | — | 9.2% | 58.7% | 184 | 0.5 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 34.13%
- English as an additional language
- 40.6%
- Overall absence
- 3.96%
- Persistent absence
- 10.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Gillespie Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · London
-
Parkwood Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · London
-
St John's Highbury Vale CofE Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · London
-
St Joan of Arc RC Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · London
-
Pooles Park Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · London
Other schools in London
Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre ranks 323rd of the 948 ranked primary schools in London.
- Abacus Belsize Primary School Primary
- Acton Gardens Primary School Primary
- Adamsrill Primary School Primary
- Addison Primary School Primary
- Ainslie Wood Primary School Primary
- Akiva School Primary
- Albemarle Primary School Primary
- Albion Primary School Primary
- Alderbrook Primary School Primary
- Aldersbrook Primary School Primary
- Alderwood Primary School Primary
- Alexander McLeod Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre teach?
- Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre teaches children aged 0 to 11. It is a primary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre?
- The headteacher of Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre is Mrs Sandeep McNicholl, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre?
- Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre has 515 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 0 to 11.
- Is Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre full?
- Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre has capacity for 508 pupils and 515 on roll (101%), so it is at or above 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 Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre a faith school?
- No. Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre has no designated religious character.
- Does Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre as having nursery classes.
- How have Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 80% in 2022/23 and 78% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre compare with other schools in Islington?
- Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre ranked 12th of 40 primary schools in Islington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre's absence rate?
- Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre'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.