Gillespie Primary School
Gillespie Road, London, N5 1LH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Owen
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Islington North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 227
- URN
- 100405
- Local authority
- Islington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02072266840
About this school
Gillespie Primary School is a community primary school in London. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 227 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- 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 | 30 | 28 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 83% | 89% | 89% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 18% | 26% |
| Expected standard in reading | 90% | 93% | 89% |
| Expected standard in maths | 93% | 93% | 96% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 93% | 93% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 110.0 | 112.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 110.0 | 110.0 | 111.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.20 | - | - |
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 Gillespie Primary 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 | Islington average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 83% | 63% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 89% | 64.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 89% | 63.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 225 |
| 2023/24 | 219 |
| 2024/25 | 208 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Gillespie Primary School compares
Gillespie Primary School ranked 3rd of 40 primary schools in Islington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 97% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 89% | 3.6% | 13.7% | 227 | — |
| St John's Highbury Vale CofE Primary School | 62% | 3.8% | 35.1% | 206 | 0.1 miles |
| Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre | 78% | 4% | 34.1% | 515 | 0.2 miles |
| St Joan of Arc RC Primary School | 71% | 4.2% | 31.5% | 427 | 0.3 miles |
| Parkwood Primary School | 59% | 6.1% | 48.2% | 190 | 0.4 miles |
| Pakeman Primary School | 62% | 6.8% | 62.7% | 338 | 0.6 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 13.73%
- English as an additional language
- 37%
- Overall absence
- 3.57%
- Persistent absence
- 5.35%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John's Highbury Vale CofE Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · London
-
Ambler Primary School and Children's Centre0.2 miles
Primary · London
-
St Joan of Arc RC Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · London
-
Parkwood Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · London
-
Pakeman Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · London
Other schools in London
Gillespie Primary School ranks 84th 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 year groups does Gillespie Primary School teach?
- Gillespie Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Gillespie Primary School?
- The headteacher of Gillespie Primary School is Mr Mark Owen, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Gillespie Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Gillespie Primary 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 Gillespie Primary School?
- Gillespie Primary School has 227 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Gillespie Primary School full?
- Gillespie Primary School has capacity for 236 pupils and 227 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Gillespie Primary School a faith school?
- No. Gillespie Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Gillespie Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Gillespie Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Gillespie Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 83% in 2022/23 and 89% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Gillespie Primary School rank locally?
- Gillespie Primary School ranked 3rd of 40 primary schools in Islington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 97% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Gillespie Primary School's absence rate?
- Gillespie Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Gillespie Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Gillespie Primary 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.