Highgate Wood Secondary School, London

Ofsted's report card from its 27 January 2026 inspection grades Highgate Wood Secondary School on 7 areas: 1 strong standard and 6 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "School leaders have embedded the ethos of ‘everyone matters, everyone achieves' effectively to drive high standards of attendance and behaviour."

Achievement - Expected standard. "Pupils achieve well over time, including in public examinations."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "The curriculum is suitably broad and ambitious."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders at Highgate Wood School prioritise pupils' sense of belonging."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "The long-serving and experienced leadership team has established a clear and purposeful direction for the school."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The ‘Highgate Wood Way' underpins the school's personal development programme."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "The curriculum and wider enrichment programme have been carefully designed by leaders to reflect the interests and experiences of students."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that teachers develop pupils' oracy skills so pupils develop the skills to articulate their ideas fully and deepen their understanding consistently across subjects and year groups"; "Leaders should strengthen checks on the curriculum and teaching to evaluate how well pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, learn, and use this information to target support and review its impact".

In 2026, pupils at Highgate Wood Secondary School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 53.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 49.3 in Haringey and 47 across England.

54% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 50% in Haringey and 47% in England.

That is down from 56.3 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.26: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 38.7, against 58.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 19.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 25 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, History and Combined Science.

For September 2026 entry, 205 families put Highgate Wood Secondary School as their first choice and 879 named it as one of their preferences, for 232 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 46 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Highgate Wood Secondary School are Greig City Academy (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.6); Hornsey School for Girls (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.9); St Aloysius' College (0.8 miles, Attainment 8 51.5); and City of London Academy, Highgate Hill (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.5).

Highgate Wood Secondary School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

409 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Highgate Wood Secondary School (as of April 2026): 92% would recommend the school, 92% say their child is happy there and 85% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (92%); the weakest, that pupils behave well (83%).

Of the 262 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 92% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 22% to a further education college and 0% into work.

Of the 138 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 59% went on to university or other higher education, 1% to apprenticeships and 15% into work. 31% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

The nearest tram or metro stop is Highgate, about 950 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Coolhurst Road (->e), 170 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 603 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences and shoplifting. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Haringey (982).

In 2024/25, Highgate Wood Secondary School issued 68 suspensions, 4.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 4 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Highgate Wood Secondary School are Coleridge Primary School (0.5 miles), Rokesly Junior School (0.6 miles), Rokesly Infant & Nursery School (0.6 miles) and Whitehall Park School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.