Gillespie Primary School, London
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Overall
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
Gillespie Primary School makes history exciting and memorable for children through carefully planned visits to museums, historical sites and encounters with visiting experts. Staff work hard to include every child, including those with additional needs, so everyone can access the history curriculum fully. The school has recently appointed a resident historian to help teachers deepen children's understanding of local history and develop their own expertise.
Key Strengths
- Excellent use of educational visits to museums and historical sites (British Museum, Stone Age camps, The Golden Hinde) to bring history to life
- Strong inclusive practice ensuring pupils with SEND receive full curriculum access and are skilfully supported
- Well-sequenced curriculum with clear connections between topics and growing subject-specific vocabulary
- Good development of pupils' understanding of chronology through regular timeline activities
- Strong teaching of how historians use evidence, particularly in Year 6
Areas for Improvement
- Pupils need more sustained opportunities to demonstrate understanding of historical concepts like causation, significance, contrasts and trends over time
- Timeline activities sometimes too restrictive, requiring pupils to simply copy text rather than engage critically
- Ambitious historical questions (such as those used in Year 6) are not used enough across other year groups
- Need to strengthen opportunities for pupils to ask and answer the types of questions that real historians pose
Extracurricular Activities
Visits to British Museum, Stone Age re-enactment camps, The Golden Hinde, visits from animateurs and historians
Gillespie Primary School is an outstanding one-form entry primary school that provides a rich and well-planned history curriculum enhanced through visits to places of historical interest and visiting experts.
At a Glance
14.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 93% to 89%. Maths has remained stable at around 96%. Writing has improved from 89% to 93%.
Class Sizes
29.1
Avg class size
30.0
Infant (KS1)
28.5
KS2
7
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
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Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
96%
Near capacity
227 pupils
236 capacity
9 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - London
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for London
Admissions Demand - Islington
Places available
1,905
Applications
1,626
Got 1st preference
80.9%
Got preferred school
96.5%
Primary admissions across Islington (2025/26)
Inspection History(106)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
3.56972%
Overall absence
5.34759%
Persistent absence
187
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Secondary Schools Nearby
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Gillespie Primary School
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