City of London Academy Highbury Grove

About City of London Academy Highbury Grove

City of London Academy Highbury Grove is a secondary school in London, Islington, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. Around 1,010 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 45.4, broadly in line with the national average of 46. That is down 1.8 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it around the middle of secondary schools nationally.

45% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 63% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. City of London Academy Highbury Grove was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 98 families who put it first were offered a place. After Year 11, 89% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 10.3%. There are about 14.3 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 60% 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.