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Last refresh: 14 June 2026

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  5. City of London Academy Highbury Grove
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City of London Academy Highbury Grove

URN
144962
Phase
Secondary
Status
Open

School overview

School name
City of London Academy Highbury Grove
URN
144962
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Age range
11-18
Status
Open

School Compass Score

Good

66 / 100

Good

Based on official data for academic year 2024/25.

Academic Outcomes

60

Inspection

80

Admissions Value

54

Destinations

46

Stability & Context

100

School Compass rankings

Top 50% of secondary schools in England

Top 50% nationally

#6 of 9 schools in Islington

Based on School Compass rankings calculated from performance, inspection, admissions and destination data.

School Compass recommendation

Consider

This school has a mixed profile and may warrant further investigation.

Get the full School Compass Parent Report →

Based on School Compass analysis of official performance, inspection, admissions and destination data.

Admissions strategy

  • Application category: Target school
  • Admissions pressure: Very high competition
  • Admissions risk: Very high risk

Include safety schools — admissions are highly competitive

Get the full Parent Report

Available in the full Parent Report:

  • Recommended application mix
  • Alternative schools
  • Admissions warnings

View Parent Report options →

Crime & Safety

  • Safety score: Higher Risk
  • National comparison: Higher crime than average
  • Crime trend: Stable trend
  • Confidence: High confidence

Higher share of violent and serious offences than typical

View full Crime & Safety analysis in Parent Report

Available in the full Parent Report:

  • Crime categories in the surrounding area
  • Local authority and nearby-school comparisons
  • Safety trends over the past year
  • Area context and confidence notes

View full Crime & Safety analysis in Parent Report →

Area crime data reflects the surrounding neighbourhood — it is not a measure of school safeguarding or on-site safety.

  • Area crime data reflects the surrounding neighbourhood — it is not a measure of school safeguarding or on-site safety.
  • This section reflects police-recorded crime in the surrounding area, not incidents on school premises.
  • Figures are anonymised by the police and aggregated within approximately one mile of the school site.

Question 1: Is it a good school?

School Compass Parent Report

Your decision briefing for City of London Academy Highbury Grove

A plain-English verdict on school quality, plus application strategy, rankings, similar schools, and neighbourhood crime context — one PDF for £4.99. No subscription.

Preview sample report →

£4.99 — one-time purchase

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Question 2

Can we realistically get in?

  • Data confidence: Moderate confidence
  • Admissions pressure: Competitive
  • Personalised application strategy available
  • 6 alternative schools identified

What Admissions Advantage can and cannot tell you

Can tell you

  • Competitiveness on published admissions data
  • Demand trends over recent admission cycles
  • Application portfolio balance across your shortlist
  • Accessible alternative schools in your area

Cannot tell you

  • Last admitted distance
  • Catchment boundaries
  • Postcode-specific likelihood
  • Offer probability
  • Waiting list position
  • Priority rules
  • Grammar / selective cut-offs

Get Admissions Advantage — £9.99

Full confidence factors, trend analysis, portfolio coaching, school names, and rationales are in the paid report only.

View Admissions Advantage options →

Can we realistically get in?

School Compass Admissions Advantage

Admissions strategy for City of London Academy Highbury Grove

A nine-page admissions briefing: competitiveness, pressure trends, portfolio balance, alternatives, and a plain-English action plan — advice-first, not a prediction of offer outcomes.

£9.99 — Admissions Advantage

One school, one admissions briefing. Buy Parent Report and Admissions Advantage separately if you want both decision reports.

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Is this the right school and area for our family?

Complete School Decision Report

Full family decision briefing for City of London Academy Highbury Grove

One integrated PDF — school quality, admissions reality, neighbourhood safety, transport, housing, amenities, persona lens, trade-offs, and a plain-English action plan.

£14.99 — Complete School Decision Report

Everything in Parent Report and Admissions Advantage, plus family-life context and a unified verdict — one purchase, one PDF.

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Ofsted inspections

Previous inspection framework
Latest publication date
20 June 2022
Inspection date
26 April 2022
Inspection type
Academy First Section 5
Category of concern
None recorded
SafeguardingNot available

Inspection outcomes

  • Overall effectiveness

    Good

    Graded 20 June 2022

  • Quality of education

    Good

    Graded 20 June 2022

  • Behaviour and attitudes

Admissions

Very High pressure

Official Department for Education applications and offers data for Secondary Transfer in academic year 2025/26.

Academic year

Academic year

2025/26

Published admission number (PAN)

Published admission number (PAN)

170

Places offered by the school

Applications received

Applications received

470

Times listed as any preference

Offers made

Offers made

155

Preferred offers from this school

Oversubscription ratio

Oversubscription ratio

2.76×

Applications per place

Offer rate

Where to apply

Use these official links to submit your application. Deadlines and portals are set by your local authority — always confirm the latest dates before you apply.

Local authority
Islington
Admissions portal
GOV.UK — apply for a secondary school place (Islington)
Application deadline
31 October 2026 (on-time deadline for secondary entry, September 2027)
School website
www.highburygrove.cola.org.uk

If the portal link opens GOV.UK, select Islington to reach your council's application system.

Performance & outcomes

Official Department for Education attainment and outcomes data. Suppressed or unpublished figures are shown as “Not published”.

Key stage 4 (secondary)

Key stage 4 (secondary) data for academic year 2024/25

Official Department for Education key stage 4 performance for academic year 2024/25. Progress 8 is not published for this academic year.

Attainment 8

Attainment 8

45.4

Progress 8

Progress 8

Not published

English and maths grade 5 or above

English & maths 5+

44.7%

English and maths grade 4 or above

English & maths 4+

63.3%

EBacc entry

EBacc entry

45.7%

EBacc achievement

Location

N5 2EQ - 8 Highbury Grove, Islington, London

Contact details

Address
8 Highbury Grove, Islington, London
Postcode
N5 2EQ
Phone
2072888900
Website
www.highburygrove.cola.org.uk
Visit websiteOpen in Google Maps

Administrative details

Local authority name
Islington
Local authority code
206

School insights

Local authority context

This school is one of 140 schools in Islington.

Authority statistics

Total schools

140

Open schools

72

Closed schools

68

Primary schools

72

Data quality

Last updated
14 June 2026
Last imported
14 June 2026

Dates reflect the latest GIAS import and any recorded closure date for this school.

The School Compass Score combines academic outcomes, inspection findings, admissions value, destinations, and school stability to help parents compare schools consistently.

  • Not all crime is reported to the police. Small areas can vary significantly year to year.
  • Source: data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence; population from ONS.
  • Good

    Graded 20 June 2022

  • Personal development

    Good

    Graded 20 June 2022

  • Leadership and management

    Good

    Graded 20 June 2022

  • Sixth form

    Good

    Graded 20 June 2022

  • View official Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)

    Inspection history

    Showing the last 1 inspection on record, including monitoring visits.

    PublishedInspectedTypeSummaryReport
    20 June 202226 April 2022Academy First Section 5GoodView report for inspection published 20 June 2022
    • Good

      Published
      20 June 2022
      Inspected
      26 April 2022
      Type
      Academy First Section 5
      Report
      View report

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Ofsted management information via GOV.UK.

    Offer rate

    33.0%

    Offers as a share of applications

    First preference offers: 89

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education school applications and offers statistics.

    EBacc achievement

    20.1%

    Post-16 (A level)

    Average

    Post-16 (A level) data for academic year 2024/25

    Official Department for Education 16 to 18 performance (A level) for academic year 2024/25.

    Average point score per entry

    APS

    30.4

    Value added

    Value added

    +0.13

    AAB with two facilitating subjects

    AAB %

    9.1%

    Retention

    Retention %

    Not published

    Key stage 4 destinations

    Key stage 4 destinations data for leaver academic year 2022/23

    Sustained destination measures for pupils who completed key stage 4 in 2022/23 (destinations in 2023/24).

    Education destination

    Education %

    87.0%

    Employment destination

    Employment %

    1.0%

    Apprenticeship destination

    Apprenticeships %

    1.0%

    Not in education, employment or training

    NEET %

    9.0%

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education performance and outcomes statistics (England).

    Secondary schools

    15

    Special schools

    0

    Phase distribution

    • Primary72 (52.6%)
    • Secondary15 (10.9%)
    • Special0 (0.0%)
    • Other50 (36.5%)

    Nearby schools

    School nameDistancePhaseStatus
    Highbury Grove School0 mSecondaryClosed
    Samuel Rhodes MLD School93 mNot applicableOpen
    The London Screen Academy340 m16 plusOpen
    Highbury Fields School414 mSecondaryOpen
    London Scandinavian School530 mNot applicableOpen
    Drayton Park Primary School574 mPrimaryOpen
    Canonbury Primary School575 mPrimaryOpen
    Canonbury Junior School575 mPrimaryClosed
    Canonbury Infants' School575 mPrimaryClosed
    Highbury Quadrant Primary School618 mPrimaryClosed
    • Highbury Grove School
      Distance
      0 m
      Phase
      Secondary
      Status
      Closed
    • Samuel Rhodes MLD School
      Distance
      93 m
      Phase
      Not applicable
      Status
      Open
    • The London Screen Academy
      Distance
      340 m
      Phase
      16 plus
      Status
      Open
    • Highbury Fields School
      Distance
      414 m
      Phase
      Secondary
      Status
      Open

    Similar schools

    Same phase (Secondary) and local authority (Islington)

    School namePhasePostcodeStatus
    Arts and Media School IslingtonSecondaryN4 3LSOpen
    Beacon HighSecondaryN7 0JGClosed
    Central Foundation Boys' SchoolSecondaryEC2A 4SHOpen
    City of London Academy IslingtonSecondaryN1 8PQOpen
    City of London Academy, Highgate HillSecondaryN19 3EUOpen
    • Arts and Media School Islington
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      N4 3LS
      Status
      Open
    • Beacon High
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      N7 0JG
      Status
      Closed
    • Central Foundation Boys' School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      EC2A 4SH
      Status
      Open
    • City of London Academy Islington
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      N1 8PQ
      Status
      Open
    • City of London Academy, Highgate Hill
    London Scandinavian School
    Distance
    530 m
    Phase
    Not applicable
    Status
    Open
  • Drayton Park Primary School
    Distance
    574 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Canonbury Primary School
    Distance
    575 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Canonbury Junior School
    Distance
    575 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • Canonbury Infants' School
    Distance
    575 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • Highbury Quadrant Primary School
    Distance
    618 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • Phase
    Secondary
    Postcode
    N19 3EU
    Status
    Open