Samuel Rhodes MLD School
Samuel Rhodes MLD School is a council special school in London for boys and girls aged 11 to 19. It has 130 pupils and room for 140. About 73 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in May 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
11 Highbury New Park, Islington, London, N5 2EG020 7704 7490samuelrhodes.islington.sch.ukMrs Cerys Normanton headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 12 May 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.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 25 May 2022 | Ungraded | School remains Outstanding |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
18 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 15 | – | – |
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
2 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Islington | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 12 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 67% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 13% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -18.3 | -5.2 | – | -10.5 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -17.9 | -6.1 | – | -10.0 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | – | – | – | – | – | 0% | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
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.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Islington with moderate learning difficulties provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (48), Moderate learning difficulty (27), Specific learning difficulty (19), emotional and mental health (14), language and communications needs (10), Other difficulty or disability (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 130 | 129 | 144 | 139 | 135 | 124 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 74% | 72% | 65% | 68% | 70% | 66% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 49% | 27% | 30% | 27% | 27% | 30% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 99% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 10.5% | 10.5% | 13.4% | 14.8% | 31.7% | 9.0% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.7% | 9.0% | 11.6% | 12.0% | 29.5% | 7.3% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.8% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 2.8% | 2.3% | 1.7% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 33.7% | 34.6% | 47.3% | 51.5% | 97.1% | 31.0% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 14 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 100%, compared with – for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of London Academy Highbury Grove | Academy | 90 m | 892 | Good 2022 | 54 | Compare |
| The London Screen Academy | Free schools 16 to 19 | 430 m | 867 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Canonbury Primary School | Council | 490 m | 441 | Good 2022 | 87 | Compare |
| Highbury Fields School | Council | 500 m | 733 | Outstanding 2022 | 91 | Compare |
| North Bridge House Senior Canonbury School | Independent | 560 m | 195 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Drayton Park Primary School | Council | 620 m | 277 | Not inspected | 90 | Compare |
| The Courtyard Islington | Free school | 630 m | 76 | Good 2023 | – | Compare |
| Laycock Primary School | Council | 680 m | 217 | Good 2024 | 18 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Samuel Rhodes MLD School a good school?
Samuel Rhodes MLD School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from May 2026 rated its teaching as strong.
What is Samuel Rhodes MLD School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 12 May 2026 it rated teaching as strong, achievement as strong, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as strong.
How many pupils does Samuel Rhodes MLD School have?
130 pupils aged 11 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 140 places, so it is 93% full.
What is attendance like at Samuel Rhodes MLD School?
Pupils were in school 89.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 34% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Samuel Rhodes MLD School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for moderate learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Samuel Rhodes MLD School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- 11 Highbury New Park, Islington, London, N5 2EG
- Telephone
- 020 7704 7490
- Website
- www.samuelrhodes.islington.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Cerys Normanton
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 11-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Islington
- Ward
- Mildmay
- Constituency
- Islington North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 100469 · LAESTAB 2067146 · UKPRN 10016381
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.