Arts and Media School Islington
Foundation school · 577 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.3
Voluntary aided school
Central Foundation Boys' School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,152of 1,050 places
- Free school meals
- 44.0%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 170
- Ofsted
- Inspected, 11 March 2025Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Of the 164 pupils who finished Year 11 at Central Foundation Boys' School in 2023, 63% stayed on in Central Foundation Boys' School’s own sixth form (Islington average 39%), 27% went to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 101 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 63% went to university (Islington 50%, England 37%), and 24% 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 55.2 against 46.1 across England and 47.0 in Islington, with 69% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Computer Science is unusually popular at GCSE: 42% of the year group took it, against 13% 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 | This school | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 164 | 1,530 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 98% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 94% | 89% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 63% | 39% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 4% | 5% | 13% |
| — further education college | 27% | 41% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 4% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 1% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 2% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 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 | This school | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 101 | 785 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 63% | 50% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 24% | 21% | 19% |
| Further education | 1% | 3% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 1% | 7% |
| Employment | 15% | 19% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 13% | 13% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 55.2 | 47.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 69% | 48% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 82% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 59% | 48% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.09 | 4.27 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 48% | 56% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 50.3 | 40.9 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 59.8 | 54.7 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 31% | 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 Language | 170 | 100% | 89% | 32% | 20% | 84% |
| Mathematics | 170 | 100% | 88% | 40% | 22% | 86% |
| English Literature | 169 | 99% | 86% | 34% | 21% | 86% |
| Combined Science | 150 | 88% | 65% | 23% | 9% | 75% |
| Geography | 105 | 62% | 41% | 42% | 25% | 80% |
| Business Studies | 99 | 58% | 18% | 40% | 20% | 74% |
| Religious Studies | 99 | 58% | 31% | 20% | 32% | 84% |
| History | 73 | 43% | 41% | 21% | 26% | 55% |
| Computer Science | 72 | 42% | 13% | 29% | 30% | 72% |
| French | 47 | 28% | 18% | 17% | 29% | 74% |
| Spanish | 44 | 26% | 19% | 36% | 27% | 86% |
| Fine Art | 24 | 14% | 9% | 4% | 28% | 54% |
| 3D Design | 24 | 14% | 2% | 8% | 16% | 63% |
| Design and Technology | 24 | 14% | 11% | 4% | 23% | 79% |
| Physical Education | 21 | 12% | 11% | 14% | 24% | 76% |
| Chinese | 19 | 11% | 1% | 37% | 75% | 95% |
| Biology | 18 | 11% | 23% | 61% | 45% | 94% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 17 | 10% | 8% | 6% | 21% | 65% |
| Chemistry | 17 | 10% | 23% | 59% | 47% | 100% |
| Drama | 17 | 10% | 7% | 24% | 27% | 71% |
| Physics | 17 | 10% | 23% | 82% | 46% | 100% |
| Music | 15 | 9% | 5% | 20% | 33% | 87% |
| Turkish | 5 | 3% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Arabic | 4 | 2% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Italian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | This school | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 263 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 111 | 472 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B- | B- | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 37.72 | 37.46 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B- | C+ | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 14% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 62 | 56% | 31% |
| Biology | 41 | 37% | 20% |
| Psychology | 29 | 26% | 23% |
| Chemistry | 25 | 23% | 17% |
| Physics | 24 | 22% | 12% |
| Geography | 19 | 17% | 10% |
| Business Studies | 17 | 15% | 13% |
| Sociology | 16 | 14% | 13% |
| Politics | 15 | 14% | 6% |
| Economics | 14 | 13% | 13% |
| History | 13 | 12% | 13% |
| Further Mathematics | 13 | 12% | 5% |
| English Literature | 11 | 10% | 11% |
| Law | 10 | 9% | 4% |
| Computer Science | 9 | 8% | 5% |
| 3D Design | 7 | 6% | 1% |
| Persian | — | — | 0% |
| Arabic | — | — | 0% |
| Spanish | — | — | 2% |
| Japanese | — | — | 0% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multimedia | OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3 | 18 | 16% | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma at Level 3 | 18 | 16% | — |
Other secondary schools in Islington
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
Highbury Fields School
Community school · sixth form · 733 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 57.4
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.