Arts and Media School Islington

Arts and Media School Islington has been rated as good overall, with strengths across various domains including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The school provides a caring environment where pupils feel safe and supported, enabling them to engage well with the ambitious curriculum. There are positive relationships between pupils and staff, and the school actively promotes inclusion, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Additionally, the school has cultivated a positive reading culture and encourages personal development through various opportunities.

Strengths

• Caring and welcoming environment for pupils
• High aspirations for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Effective support for reading development
• Wide range of extracurricular opportunities
• Strong safeguarding culture and effective support systems

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in teachers' expectations of behaviour leading to occasional disruptions
• Lack of clarity in some subjects about crucial knowledge pupils need to remember
• Need for improved assessment practices to address learning gaps in subjects

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Arts and Media School Islington attended 85.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 47.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 13.1% of pupils at Arts and Media School Islington were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Arts and Media School Islington had 14.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 22.7% of pupils at Arts and Media School Islington were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Arts and Media School Islington received £13,087 and spent £12,824 for each of its 577 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,290,000 (£2,235 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Islington · Islington local authority: places and applications

What is Arts and Media School Islington's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Arts and Media School Islington is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

When was Arts and Media School Islington last inspected by Ofsted?

Arts and Media School Islington was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does Arts and Media School Islington have?

Arts and Media School Islington has 577 pupils on roll.

What age range does Arts and Media School Islington cover?

Arts and Media School Islington for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Arts and Media School Islington's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.2, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Arts and Media School Islington?

Arts and Media School Islington is at Turle Road, London, N4 3LS.