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State secondary · 11 to 18 · Girls · 733 pupils

Highbury Fields School

Highbury Hill, London, N5 1AR · Islington
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COULD YOUR CHILD GET IN? · YEAR 7 2027

Offers reached between 0.85 and 0.99 miles in the last 3 years we hold. Enter your postcode to see where your home falls.

Bars: how far the last place offered reached each year. Check your postcode and each year turns green where a place reached your home. Source: London Borough of Islington offer-day figures, 2024 to 2026.

Free, no account needed. Your postcode is used for this check and not kept.
Ofsted: School remains Outstanding · September 2022Top 20% (2/10)Fewer first choices than places (2026)
School website ↗Google Maps ↗Directions ↗Ofsted reports ↗DfE results ↗Government register ↗

Summary

The key facts, in one place
GCSE (key stage 4) The league rank: the school's place among its council's schools of the same phase on the newest year's DfE results, the same rank as on the Schools map. In England: 420th of 3,223 on the same figure. Band: Top 20%.
Top 20% (2/10)Rank among 10 Islington secondaries with results, 2026 results (Attainment 8)
See the Islington league table →
Inspection
School remains Outstanding, September 2022
Getting in
Last offer 0.99 mi (2026)
Results
+0.43 progress 8; 56.2 attainment 8
Size
733 pupils; 136 places a year; classes of 19
Run by
Islington council
Type
Community school
Ages
11 to 18 · Girls
Strengths, and things to check
  • Progress 8: +0.43, against +0.22 in Islington.
  • Attainment 8: 56.2, against 49.7 in Islington.
Schools for usRank every school near you by the measures that matter to your family, each reason shown.Rank schools →

At a glance

Against Islington and England
This schoolIslingtonEnglandHover or tap a bar for the figures
Academic
Progress 8How far pupils progressed between the end of primary school and GCSEs, against pupils across England who started at the same level. 0 is average; +0.5 means half a grade better in each subject.
+0.43
Better than Islington
Attainment 8The average GCSE score across eight subjects, including English and maths counted twice. A grade 5 in all eight would score 50.
56.2
Better than Islington
English and maths, grade 5+The share of pupils with grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE (a strong pass).
64%
Better than Islington
Attendance and behaviour
Sessions missedHalf-day sessions missed, authorised or not, as a share of all sessions in the school year (DfE pupil absence). Lower is better.
8.4%
In line with Islington
Persistently absentPupils who missed one session in ten or more. Lower is better.
22.3%
Better than Islington
Suspensions per 100 pupilsSuspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Lower is better; one or two incidents move a small school a lot.
2.5
Better than Islington
Pupils and classes
Average class sizeAverage pupils per class, from the school census. Shown for context, not as a score.
19.3
Context
Free school mealsPupils eligible for free school meals. Context for reading the results, not a measure of the school.
51%
Context
Pupils for each teacherPupils on roll for each full-time teacher, from the school workforce census. Shown for context.
12.5
Context
Demand for places
First choices per placeFamilies who put this school first, for each Year 7 place in 2026 (DfE applications and offers). Above 1 means more first choices than places.
0.7
In line with Islington
Islington and England: DfE's own averages for results. For the rest, the middle state secondary school of the same phase, from every school we hold, since DfE publishes no council figure we hold.Where these figures come from →

Overview

Getting in

  • 98 families put it first for 136 places; 76 of them got in DfE, school applications and offers · Year 7 2026
  • We hold no catchment map for this school, so we can't say which addresses are inside it.

Quality

  • School remains Outstanding Ofsted · inspected 28 September 2022
  • Progress 8: +0.43 (England +0.01) (county +0.22) DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024
  • Attainment 8: 56.2 (England 47.4) (county 49.7) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • English and maths grade 5 or above: 64% (England 48%) (county 51%) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • Progress, set against pupils who started with the same results: above average DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024

Daily life

  • Absence: 8.4% of sessions missed; 22% of pupils miss 1 in 10 or more. Schools with a similar intake: 9.7% and 29% DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level · 2024/25
  • Suspensions: 2 per 100 pupils (schools with a similar intake: 26); 0 permanent exclusions DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level · 2024/25
  • Classes average 19.3 pupils; 4.6% of classes have more than 30 DfE, school workforce and pupil census · 2025/26
  • 12.5 pupils for each teacher DfE, school workforce · November 2025
  • Nearest stops, in a straight line: bus 191 m, rail 276 m, tram or metro 729 m DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes) · within 800 m
  • 39 police-reported road collisions within 500 m (0 fatal, 9 serious) DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years · 2021 to 2025
  • Air: nitrogen dioxide 22.3 µg/m³, PM2.5 9.6 (1 km square, background level) DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps · 2024

Who runs it

  • Community school is run by its local council (Islington), not by an academy trust. DfE, Get Information about Schools

Getting in

How far offers reached

How far away the last child offered a place under the distance rule lived, as the council measures it. It changes every year with who applies: a record, not a promise. Children with a higher priority can be offered places from further away.

Year 7. Distance of the last child offered a place on offer day. What the last distance means →

Last distance offeredAdd your home to this chart
1 mi0.50
202420252026

Offer day, year by year

EntryYearPlacesApplicationsOfferedRefusedLast distance (miles)
Year 7202614098140—0.99
Year 72025140131140—0.85
Year 72024————0.97

Source: Council offer-day figures: London Borough of Islington, 2024 to 2026. A dash is a figure the council does not publish, not nought. Distances are straight lines from the school.

Applications and offers, DfE

EntryYearPlacesFirst choicesAny choiceFirst choices offered
Year 720261369844276
Year 7202513713146290
Year 7202414012545696
Year 72023138144479105
Year 7202213812445293
Year 7202113911654982
Year 7202013918057498
Year 7201913915856299
Year 72018139168569100
Year 720171409443983

Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence), 2014 to 2026. Families name up to three schools, so most applications are somebody's second or third choice.

Could you get in?Enter a home or postcode: we set it against every year's last offer and this school's rules.

Results

Results

MeasureThis schoolEnglandCouncilYear
Progress 8+0.43+0.01+0.222023/2024
Attainment 856.247.449.72025/2026
English and maths grade 5 or above64%48%51%2025/2026
Average A level gradeB——2024/2025

Source: DfE school performance tables, 2023/2024, 2024/2025, 2025/2026.

League table place

TableLeague rank
GCSE (key stage 4)Top 20% (2/10)
A level (16 to 18)Top 25% (2/8)

Source: DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase.

Inspections

DateKindOutcome
28 September 2022Ungraded visitSchool remains Outstanding

Source: Ofsted, 2022.

Where leavers go

StageLeavers inPupilsIn a sustained placeOf which
After GCSEs2023/2412790%In education 87%; Apprenticeship 0.8%; Employment 1.6%
After GCSEs2022/2313493%In education 92%; Apprenticeship 0.0%; Employment 1.5%
After GCSEs2021/2213191%In education 89%; Apprenticeship 0.0%; Employment 1.5%
After sixth form2023/244384%Further education 0.0%; Apprenticeship 2.3%; Employment 12%
After sixth form2022/235176%Further education 2.0%; Apprenticeship 2.0%; Employment 12%

Source: DfE, destination measures. A figure DfE hides for a small group is left out, not shown as nought. The newest year may be provisional.

Islington league tableEvery school of this phase in the council on these results.See the table →

Daily life

Absence

YearSessions missedAuthorisedUnauthorisedPupils missing 1 in 10Pupils missing 1 in 2
2024/258.4%2.9%5.5%22%3.5%
2023/249.0%3.4%5.6%27%4.7%
2022/239.0%3.9%5.1%27%2.8%
Schools with a similar intake9.7%29%

Source: DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level, 2024-25. Similar intake: state schools of the same phase with free school meals in the same band (40% or more), the median of 758 schools.

Suspensions and exclusions

YearSuspensions per 100 pupilsPupils suspendedSuspensionsPermanent exclusions
2024/252.51.6%180
2023/244.22.0%312
2022/232.21.8%171
Schools with a similar intake25.9

Source: DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level, 2024-25.

Class sizes and staff

MeasureFigureYear
Average class size19.32025/26
Classes over 30 pupils4.6%2025/26
Pupils for each teacher12.5November 2025

Source: DfE, school workforce; school census, 2025/26.

Stops nearby

KindNearest (metres, straight line)
bus191
rail276
tram or metro729

Source: DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes), current. A stop across a railway or main road may be a long walk. Bus frequency is not held.

Road collisions within 500 m

YearCollisions
20255
20246
20238
20225
202115

Source: DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years, 2021 to 2025. 9 serious and 0 fatal in all; 12 involved a pedestrian, 11 a cyclist. Only collisions with an injury reported to police are counted.

Air quality

PollutantAnnual mean (µg/m³)Year
NO222.32024
PM1015.92024
PM259.62024

Source: DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps. A 1 km background figure: not the air at the school gate beside a busy road.

Pupils

Who goes there

MeasureShare of pupilsYear
Eligible for free school meals51%2025/26
First language other than English48%2025/26
SEN support18%2025/26
Education, health and care plan2.0%2025/26
Girls100%2025/26

Source: DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs, 2025/26.

Who runs it

Who runs it

  • Community school is run by its local council (Islington), not by an academy trust. DfE, Get Information about Schools

Area

Homes in reach of this schoolLook up any home near here: its sales, an open-data valuation, and which schools it keeps in reach.Search homes →

Sources

  • Council offer-day figures: London Borough of Islington
  • DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps
  • DfE school performance tables
  • DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase
  • DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence)
  • DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level
  • DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level
  • DfE, destination measures
  • DfE, school workforce; school census
  • DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs
  • DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes)
  • DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years
  • Ofsted
  • School register: DfE Get Information about Schools (this school)
  • How we check these figures: How we know

More in schools in London and the Islington league table. School register: DfE Get Information about Schools, updated 17 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources are named beside each figure. How we know · All sources.