Ilford County High School, Ilford

Ofsted's report card from its 6 January 2026 inspection grades Ilford County High School on 7 areas: 7 strong standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Strong standard. "Published academic outcomes are very high."

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Leaders and staff prioritise attendance and punctuality."

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "The curriculum is broad and very ambitious."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Leaders have high academic expectations for all learners."

Leadership and governance - Strong standard. "Leaders have a realistic and nuanced view of the school's strengths and areas for further refinement."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Leaders provide an extensive and inclusive personal development programme."

Post 16 provision - Strong standard. "The post-16 curriculum is detailed and ambitious."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "The school should sustain its effective use of assessment and build on its work to further enhance teaching and learning".

From the headteacher's welcome: "As a high performing grammar school, we are naturally proud of our reputation for exceptional academic excellence. In recent years, at GCSEs, our students have performed in the top 4% across all subjects and the top 1% for Maths and Sciences, of all students nationally."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include drama, chess, coding, debating and Duke of Edinburgh.

Coming up: an open evening on Wednesday 11 November 2026 at 3.30pm. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Ilford County High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 77, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 55.7 in Redbridge and 47 across England.

99% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 63% in Redbridge and 47% in England.

That is up from 75.7 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.87: pupils made well 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 75.8, against 77.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 1.3 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 19 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Physics, Biology and Religious Studies.

Ilford County High School is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 258 families put Ilford County High School as their first choice and 538 named it as one of their preferences, for 179 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 110 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Ilford County High School admits pupils through an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Ilford County High School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Redbridge's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Redbridge has 2 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Ilford County High School are King Solomon High School (0.5 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 49.5); Caterham High School (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.2); Oaks Park High School (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 54.3); and Beal High School (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 54.8).

Ilford County High School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

104 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Ilford County High School (as of April 2026): 81% would recommend the school, 79% say their child is happy there and 36% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (89%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (36%).

Of the 178 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 97% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 1% to a further education college and 1% into work.

Of the 130 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 69% went on to university or other higher education, 3% to apprenticeships and 12% into work. 37% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

13.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 60.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Asian (84%) and Mixed (6%).

In 2026, 61 pupils (5.5%) received SEN support and 10 (0.9%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest tram or metro stop is Fairlop, about 1030 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Mossford Lane Barkingside (->e), 110 metres away.

In 2024/25, Ilford County High School issued 65 suspensions, 5.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Ilford County High School are Mossford Green Primary School (0.1 miles), Clore Tikva School (0.2 miles), Gilbert Colvin Primary School (0.4 miles) and Wohl Ilford Jewish Primary School (0.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.