City of London Academy Highbury Grove
8 Highbury Grove, Islington, London, N5 2EQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CITY OF LONDON ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Aimee Lyall
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- City of London Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Islington North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 892
- URN
- 144962
- Local authority
- Islington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02072888900
About this school
City of London Academy Highbury Grove is a secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 892 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 | 174 | 188 | 199 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.8 | 47.2 | 45.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.36 -0.58 to -0.14 | +0.09 -0.11 to +0.30 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 51.6% | 44.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 67% | 63.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 66% | 51.6% | 45.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
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 City of London Academy Highbury Grove 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 | 40.8 | 44.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.2 | 46.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.4 | 45.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,150 |
| 2023/24 | 1,107 |
| 2024/25 | 1,010 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How City of London Academy Highbury Grove compares
City of London Academy Highbury Grove ranked 5th of 8 secondary schools in Islington for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.4 | 10.1% | 60.1% | 892 | — |
| Highbury Fields School | 57.4 | 8.4% | 54.1% | 733 | 0.3 miles |
| Stoke Newington School and Sixth Form | 48.4 | 8.7% | 41.1% | 1,665 | 0.8 miles |
| City of London Academy Islington | 40.8 | 14.1% | 70.1% | 852 | 0.9 miles |
| The Excelsior Academy | 44.7 | 8.7% | 61.7% | 983 | 1.1 miles |
| Waterside Academy | 44.6 | 7.8% | 64.4% | 351 | 1.2 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)
- 60.07%
- English as an additional language
- 25%
- Overall absence
- 10.13%
- Persistent absence
- 28.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Highbury Fields School0.3 miles
Secondary · London
-
Stoke Newington School and Sixth Form0.8 miles
Secondary · London
-
City of London Academy Islington0.9 miles
Secondary · London
-
The Excelsior Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · London
-
Waterside Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
City of London Academy Highbury Grove ranks 187th 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 City of London Academy Highbury Grove teach?
- City of London Academy Highbury Grove teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of City of London Academy Highbury Grove?
- The headteacher of City of London Academy Highbury Grove is Ms Aimee Lyall, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was City of London Academy Highbury Grove last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected City of London Academy Highbury Grove, 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 City of London Academy Highbury Grove?
- City of London Academy Highbury Grove has 892 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is City of London Academy Highbury Grove full?
- City of London Academy Highbury Grove has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 892 on roll (74%), 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 City of London Academy Highbury Grove a faith school?
- No. City of London Academy Highbury Grove has no designated religious character.
- Is City of London Academy Highbury Grove a selective school?
- No. City of London Academy Highbury Grove is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs City of London Academy Highbury Grove?
- City of London Academy Highbury Grove is part of CITY OF LONDON ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have City of London Academy Highbury Grove's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.8 in 2022/23 and 45.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does City of London Academy Highbury Grove rank locally?
- City of London Academy Highbury Grove ranked 5th of 8 secondary schools in Islington for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is City of London Academy Highbury Grove's absence rate?
- City of London Academy Highbury Grove's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are City of London Academy Highbury Grove's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, City of London Academy Highbury Grove'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 10 July 2026.