School Chooser

New River College Medical

Pupil referral unit / alternative provision · ages 5-16MixedPupil referral unit28 pupilsLondonIslington
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedStrong teachingOfsted report card, March 2026
Pupils from low-income families71%Far more than most schools
Pupils per teacher3.9School workforce census
Pupils on roll28Census January 2026

New River College Medical is a pupil referral unit in London for boys and girls aged 5 to 16. It has 28 pupils. About 71 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in March 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Maygood Street, London, N1 0TJ020 7504 0534newrivercollege.co.uk/nrc-medical/welcome-medicalMr Nigel Smith headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 10 March 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
Strong
Achievement
Strong
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
Strong
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Exceptional
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
Strong
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
Strong
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
23 June 2021UngradedSchool remains Outstanding

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Islington council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll28Census January 2026
Pupils from low-income families68%71% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English4%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support61%17 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan36%10 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)57%£17,600 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls10 / 18
White British pupils36%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (22), Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll28434529238
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals68%49%51%59%44%63%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language4%7%4%14%17%13%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support81%82%62%52%63%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans19%18%38%44%38%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 13 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training62%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 60%, compared with – for everyone else.

Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers
Still in education, work or training62%60%
Education54%50%
Apprenticeship8%10%
Work0%0%
Not in education, work or training8%30%

Staff

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025.

Teachers9.4full-time equivalent, 13 people
Pupils per teacher3.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£72,299
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.22024/25

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m2,45812 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate137 per 1,000 people50% higher than the England average
Typical house price£665,000Islington
Nearest bus stop150 mCarnegie Street, 17 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Kate Greenaway Nursery School and Children's CentreLocal authority nursery school140 m76Not inspectedCompare
Winton Primary SchoolCouncil380 m239Outstanding 202496Compare
Vittoria Primary SchoolCouncil390 m220Good 202134Compare
St Andrew's (Barnsbury) CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England400 m165No overall grade 202518Compare
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson SchoolCouncil540 m888No overall grade 202584Compare
The Pears Family SchoolFree schools alternative provision550 m0Outstanding 2022Compare
The Gower SchoolIndependent560 m266Not inspectedCompare
Kings Cross AcademyAcademy590 m399Good 202318Compare

Questions parents ask

Is New River College Medical a good school?

New River College Medical doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from March 2026 rated its teaching as strong.

What is New River College Medical's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 10 March 2026 it rated teaching as strong, achievement as strong, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as strong.

How many pupils does New River College Medical have?

28 pupils aged 5 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Maygood Street, London, N1 0TJ
Telephone
020 7504 0534
Website
www.newrivercollege.co.uk/nrc-medical/welcome-medical
Headteacher
Mr Nigel Smith
Type of school
Pupil referral unit (Pupil referral unit, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 5-16
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Islington
Ward
Barnsbury
Constituency
Islington South and Finsbury
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2003 (new provision)
URN
134274 · LAESTAB 2061110 · UKPRN 10017166

Where these figures come from