Arts and Media School Islington
Foundation school · 577 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.3
Community school
Highbury Fields School
- Pupils on roll
- 733of 1,050 places
- Free school meals
- 51.3%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 134
- Ofsted
- School remains Outstanding, 28 September 2022Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Of the 134 pupils who finished Year 11 at Highbury Fields School in 2023, 60% stayed on in Highbury Fields School’s own sixth form (Islington average 39%), 30% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Among the 51 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 61% went to university (Islington 50%, England 37%), and 20% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 57.4 against 46.1 across England and 47.0 in Islington, with 62% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Sociology is unusually popular at GCSE: 45% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Islington and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Highbury Fields School | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 134 | 1,530 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 93% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 92% | 89% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 60% | 39% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 1% | 5% | 13% |
| — further education college | 30% | 41% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 4% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 1% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 4% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 2% | 4% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Highbury Fields School | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 51 | 785 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 76% | 81% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 61% | 50% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 20% | 21% | 19% |
| Further education | 2% | 3% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 1% | 7% |
| Employment | 12% | 19% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 12% | 13% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Highbury Fields School | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 57.4 | 47.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 62% | 48% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 81% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 49% | 48% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.26 | 4.27 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 54% | 56% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 52.1 | 40.9 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 63.5 | 54.7 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 60% | 36% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Literature | 133 | 99% | 86% | 37% | 21% | 91% |
| English Language | 132 | 99% | 89% | 35% | 20% | 89% |
| Mathematics | 132 | 99% | 88% | 33% | 22% | 83% |
| Combined Science | 92 | 69% | 65% | 20% | 9% | 72% |
| History | 87 | 65% | 41% | 39% | 26% | 75% |
| Spanish | 65 | 49% | 19% | 55% | 27% | 95% |
| Sociology | 60 | 45% | 4% | 33% | 21% | 83% |
| Biology | 40 | 30% | 23% | 80% | 45% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 39 | 29% | 23% | 79% | 47% | 100% |
| Physics | 39 | 29% | 23% | 59% | 46% | 100% |
| Geography | 37 | 28% | 41% | 41% | 25% | 92% |
| Religious Studies | 33 | 25% | 31% | 24% | 32% | 79% |
| Business Studies | 31 | 23% | 18% | 29% | 20% | 71% |
| Art and Design | 28 | 21% | 7% | 54% | 24% | 100% |
| Economics | 26 | 19% | 1% | 27% | 34% | 81% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 21 | 16% | 8% | 10% | 21% | 90% |
| Computer Science | 15 | 11% | 13% | 13% | 30% | 73% |
| Design and Technology | 10 | 7% | 11% | 20% | 23% | 70% |
| Drama | 10 | 7% | 7% | 10% | 27% | 70% |
| Turkish | 4 | 3% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Arabic | 4 | 3% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| German | 3 | 2% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Persian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
| Italian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Music | 2 | 1% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Psychology | 1 | 1% | 3% | — | 22% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | 21 | 100% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | Highbury Fields School | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 51 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 19 | 472 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B | B- | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 40.00 | 37.46 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B | C+ | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 18% | 14% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Politics | 10 | 53% | 6% |
| History | 9 | 47% | 13% |
| Sociology | 8 | 42% | 13% |
| Economics | 7 | 37% | 13% |
| Physics | 6 | 32% | 12% |
| Chemistry | — | — | 17% |
| English Literature | — | — | 11% |
| German | — | — | 0% |
| Biology | — | — | 20% |
| Mathematics | — | — | 31% |
| Fine Art | — | — | 3% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | BTEC National Extended Diploma L3 - Band N - PPP-D*D*D* | 10 | 53% | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Biology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Chemistry | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Biology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Chemistry | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | — | — | — |
Where Highbury Fields School is
Other secondary schools in Islington are shown for comparison; darker blue means more Year 11 leavers stayed in education. The last distance at which this school offered places is not yet on file — it comes from Islington’s allocation statistics.
Other secondary schools in Islington
Central Foundation Boys' School
Voluntary aided school · sixth form · 1,152 pupils
94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 55.2
City of London Academy Highbury Grove
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 892 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.4
City of London Academy, Highgate Hill
Free schools · sixth form · 641 pupils
88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.3
City of London Academy Islington
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 852 pupils
88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.8
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School
Community school · 888 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.7
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.