The UCL Academy

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Camden·NW3 3AQ
Composite score
57.4
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#1,557
National rank
#331
In London
#6
In Camden
Top 49%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
45.9
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
46%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
60%
% EBacc grade 5+
26%
EBacc average points score
4.28

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
63 first choices, 136 places
First choices per place
0.46
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
399
any preference, for 136 places
Applications from another council area
35%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.10
00.511.5
1 per place
0.8320220.7720230.5320240.5620250.462026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put The UCL Academy first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–18
Pupils on roll
1,015
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
51.0%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
45.9%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
14.4%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.0%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
9.9%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
32.1%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
12.4
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£13,165
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
85%
168 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
83%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
1%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

The UCL Academy at a glance

Located in Camden, The UCL Academy is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. The school educates roughly 1,015 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 45.9 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 0.7 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it around the middle of secondary schools nationally.

46% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 60% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made The UCL Academy their first choice was offered one of its 136 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 85% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 9.9%. There are about 12.4 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 51% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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