St Mary Magdalene Academy

About St Mary Magdalene Academy

If you're a parent in Islington, the sheer demand for St Mary Magdalene Academy tells you a lot. For 2025/26 entry, the school received 1,046 applications for just 165 places, an oversubscription ratio of 6.34 to one. Of those, 415 families put it as their first preference, and 159 first-preference offers were made. That kind of competition suggests a school that local parents trust and actively want. It's a Church of England all-through school (ages 4 to 19) with a mixed intake, and it's one of only five schools in the borough rated Outstanding by Ofsted. The most recent inspection, in 2023, gave it top marks across the board: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision all came back as Outstanding. The early years provision was rated Good. The headteacher is John Reardon, and the school is significantly over its stated capacity, with 1,554 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,360.

Academically, the school performs well above the local average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.3 is classed as 'Above average' and sits just above the Islington LA average of 0.28. That means pupils here make stronger progress than their peers across the borough. The Attainment 8 score is 56.6, and 79.8% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths (the basics measure). The EBacc average point score is 5.29, and over half of pupils (54.5%) entered the EBacc combination of subjects. In the sixth form, the picture is similarly strong: the average A-level grade per entry is a B, with a points-per-entry score of 39.96. The value-added score of 0.06 is in the 'Average' band, meaning students make expected progress from their starting points. The school ranks 4th out of 9 state secondaries in Islington by Progress 8, and sits in the top 50 nationally for that metric. Nationally, it's in the 27th percentile, which puts it comfortably in the upper half of schools.

The school is well equipped, with facilities including science labs, a swimming pool, playing fields, tennis courts, a gym, astro turf, a sports hall, music rooms, a sixth-form centre, art studios, and a chapel. Sports on offer include swimming, netball, cricket, gymnastics, rowing, and cross country. There's also a decent range of clubs: science club, coding, film club, chess, and debate. For families with children who have additional needs, the SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate to severe learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school is heavily oversubscribed, so if you're considering it, you'll need to be prepared for a competitive application process, particularly if you're not a first-preference applicant. It's a strong choice for families who want a large, high-performing all-through school with a Christian character and a proven track record of strong outcomes from primary right through to sixth form.

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