Samuel Rhodes MLD School
11 Highbury New Park, London, N5 2EG
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Cerys Normanton
- SEN provision
- MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Islington North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 140
- Pupils on roll
- 130
- URN
- 100469
- Local authority
- Islington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02077047490
About this school
Samuel Rhodes MLD School is a community special school in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 130 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Exceptional
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Post-16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -18.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -17.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -17.90 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
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 Samuel Rhodes MLD 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 | 0% | 63% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 64.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | — | 63.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 139 |
| 2023/24 | 144 |
| 2024/25 | 129 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 70.83%
- English as an additional language
- 27.1%
- Overall absence
- 10.48%
- Persistent absence
- 33.67%
Location
Nearby schools
-
London Scandinavian School0.3 miles
Independent schools · London
-
North Bridge House Senior Canonbury School0.3 miles
Independent schools
-
The Courtyard Islington0.4 miles
Free Schools · London
-
St Paul's Waldorf School0.4 miles
Independent schools · London
-
London Metropolitan University0.6 miles
Universities · London
Other schools in London
- Abbey Manor College Local authority maintained schools
- Abingdon House School Special schools
- Ambitious College Other types
- Area 51 Education Ltd Other types
- Beatrice Tate School Special schools
- Beckmead College Academies
- Belmont Park School Special schools
- Beormund Primary School Special schools
- BeyondAutism Post-19 Other types
- Blanche Nevile School Special schools
- Blossom Rose School Special schools
- Brent Knoll School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Samuel Rhodes MLD School teach?
- Samuel Rhodes MLD School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Samuel Rhodes MLD School?
- The headteacher of Samuel Rhodes MLD School is Mrs Cerys Normanton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Samuel Rhodes MLD School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Samuel Rhodes MLD 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 Samuel Rhodes MLD School?
- Samuel Rhodes MLD School has 130 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Samuel Rhodes MLD School full?
- Samuel Rhodes MLD School has capacity for 140 pupils and 130 on roll (93%), 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 Samuel Rhodes MLD School a faith school?
- No. Samuel Rhodes MLD School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Samuel Rhodes MLD School have?
- The schools register lists Samuel Rhodes MLD School's special educational needs provision as: MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Samuel Rhodes MLD School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2023/24. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Samuel Rhodes MLD School's absence rate?
- Samuel Rhodes MLD School's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Samuel Rhodes MLD School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Samuel Rhodes MLD 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 15 July 2026.