Bishop Douglass School Finchley
Hamilton Road, East Finchley, London, N2 0SQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE CARDINAL HUME ACADEMIES TRUST
- Acting Headteacher
- Mrs Michelle Henderson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Westminster
- Constituency
- Finchley and Golders Green
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,080
- Pupils on roll
- 968
- URN
- 143082
- Local authority
- Barnet
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02084445211
About this school
Bishop Douglass School Finchley is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 968 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 | 152 | 141 | 124 |
| Attainment 8 score | 56.0 | 53.4 | 52.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.88 +0.60 to +1.16 | +0.43 +0.16 to +0.70 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 63% | 57.4% | 54% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 75.2% | 70.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 83% | 92.9% | 87.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.8 |
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 Bishop Douglass School Finchley has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Barnet average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56 | 47.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.4 | 49.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.5 | 46.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,020 |
| 2023/24 | 1,001 |
| 2024/25 | 1,013 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bishop Douglass School Finchley compares
Bishop Douglass School Finchley ranked 19th of 27 secondary schools in Barnet for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.5 | 5.8% | 37.1% | 968 | — |
| The Archer Academy | 55.9 | 7.2% | 17.1% | 818 | 0.4 miles |
| Christ's College Finchley | 56.8 | 5.2% | 33.7% | 1,000 | 0.4 miles |
| The Henrietta Barnett School | 87.3 | 4.9% | 6.3% | 812 | 1.0 miles |
| Fortismere School | 58.1 | 7% | 15.2% | 1,746 | 1.2 miles |
| The Compton School | 54.8 | 5.7% | 34.4% | 1,381 | 1.3 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)
- 37.12%
- English as an additional language
- 53%
- Overall absence
- 5.81%
- Persistent absence
- 14.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Archer Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · London
-
Christ's College Finchley0.4 miles
Secondary · London
-
The Henrietta Barnett School1.0 miles
Secondary · London
-
Fortismere School1.2 miles
Secondary · London
-
The Compton School1.3 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Bishop Douglass School Finchley ranks 104th 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 Bishop Douglass School Finchley teach?
- Bishop Douglass School Finchley teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the acting headteacher of Bishop Douglass School Finchley?
- The acting headteacher of Bishop Douglass School Finchley is Mrs Michelle Henderson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bishop Douglass School Finchley last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bishop Douglass School Finchley, 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 Bishop Douglass School Finchley?
- Bishop Douglass School Finchley has 968 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Bishop Douglass School Finchley full?
- Bishop Douglass School Finchley has capacity for 1,080 pupils and 968 on roll (90%), 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 Bishop Douglass School Finchley a faith school?
- Yes. Bishop Douglass School Finchley is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
- Is Bishop Douglass School Finchley a selective school?
- No. Bishop Douglass School Finchley is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Bishop Douglass School Finchley?
- Bishop Douglass School Finchley is part of THE CARDINAL HUME ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bishop Douglass School Finchley's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 56 in 2022/23 and 52.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bishop Douglass School Finchley rank locally?
- Bishop Douglass School Finchley ranked 19th of 27 secondary schools in Barnet for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bishop Douglass School Finchley's absence rate?
- Bishop Douglass School Finchley's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bishop Douglass School Finchley's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bishop Douglass School Finchley'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 6 July 2026.