Islington beat England at every GCSE grade this summer and climbed 38 places nationally on phonics, but the council's own report shows London still ahead.
Islington’s schools beat the England average at every GCSE grade boundary this summer, which is what the council said on results day. A report published for scrutiny councillors on 15 September adds the comparison the council’s statement left out. On almost every measure, London did better than Islington.
The report is the education team’s provisional outcomes for 2026, prepared for the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee. Alongside the secondary figures the council has already published, it carries the borough’s primary results, its position in the national rankings, and the two measures that went backwards.
The headline figures in it:
- 27.8% of Islington GCSE results were at grade 7 or above, against 23.1% nationally
- 72.7% of Islington maths GCSEs were a grade 4 or above, up 3.5 percentage points on 2025
- 31.2% of A-level entries were an A* or A, against 28.3% across England
- 21.1% of vocational and technical entries got a starred distinction, against 13.0% nationally
- 83.2% of Year 1 pupils met the expected standard in phonics, up 5.5 percentage points
The report also sets a harder test than the council’s results-day statement did. Islington’s published targets are not to beat England. They are to beat London.
GCSEs: ahead of England, behind London
Islington out-performed England overall at every grade benchmark, from the proportion of results at grade 9 down to the proportion at grade 4 or above.
The gap at the top widened. In 2026, 27.8% of Islington GCSE results were a grade 7 or better, the equivalent of the old A grade, against 23.1% across England. That is a lead of 4.7 percentage points, and the report records that the gap grew by 1.2 percentage points on 2025.
All of that was in the council’s results-day release on 26 August. Two subject measures moved in Islington’s favour:
- English at grade 5 or above, a strong pass: 56.9% in Islington against 55.0% across England. Islington rose 1.7 percentage points, England rose 0.8.
- Maths at grade 4 or above, a standard pass: 72.7% in Islington, up 3.5 percentage points on 2025. England did not move at all, staying at 71.8% in both years.
The scrutiny report does not stop there, and this is the sentence that did not make the press release. It states plainly that “our Statistical Neighbours and London outperformed Islington at each grade benchmark”. Statistical neighbours are the group of councils the Department for Education treats as most comparable to Islington. So the borough is ahead of the country and behind its nearest peers at the same time.
A-levels: the average point score rose a full point
The average point score across Islington A-level entries rose from 37.4 in 2025 to 38.4 in 2026, an increase of 1.0. The figures exclude London Screen Academy, and the report notes they are expected to rise once remarks come back.
| Grades | Islington | England | London |
|---|---|---|---|
| A* to A | 31.2% | 28.3% | 32.7% |
| A* to B | 62.9% | 55.6% | 59.6% |
| A* to C | 85.6% | 78.1% | 80.5% |
| A* to E | 98.7% | 97.9% | 98.1% |
The pattern is worth reading carefully. Islington is above England on all four measures and above London on three of them. The one it misses is the top grades: 31.2% at A* or A against London’s 32.7%. The council’s own release quoted the 31.2% and the 85.6% against the national average and did not give the London figures at all.
Vocational and technical qualifications are the clearest win in the whole report. Among level 3 applied general and tech level qualifications, 21.1% of Islington grades were a starred distinction, against 13.0% across England. More than two-thirds of Islington grades on these qualifications were a distinction or better. Across England, fewer than half were. The council added on results day that the vocational and technical pass rate was 100%.
Primary: eight straight years above the national average
None of what follows appeared in the council’s results-day statement, which covered GCSEs, A-levels and vocational courses only.
70.0% of Islington children met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, up from 66.7% in 2025 and 6.8 percentage points above the England figure of 63.2%. The report records that Islington has been above national on this measure for the last eight years, since 2016, leaving out the two years when Covid meant no data was published.
The three subjects separately, all above England:
- reading 79.5%, against 75.0% nationally
- writing 76.5%, against 73.1%
- maths 79.4%, against 75.0%
At the higher standard in reading, writing and maths, 13.7% of Islington children met it, against 8.6% across England and 13.6% across London. That is one of the few measures in the report where Islington is ahead of the London average as well.
There is no Key Stage 2 progress data for 2023/24 or 2024/25. The report explains why: Covid disrupted the Key Stage 1 prior attainment data those cohorts would have been measured against.
The rankings tell a sharper story than the percentages
The report ranks Islington against every other local authority in England, and the movement between 2024/25 and 2025/26 is where the real news sits.
Phonics is the standout. Islington’s Year 1 expected standard rose 5.5 percentage points to 83.2%, and the borough moved from the 74th percentile of English local authorities to the 36th, a jump of 38 places. That takes it 1.4 percentage points above the England average of 81.8%, and to within 0.3 percentage points of the London average of 83.5%.
Writing at the expected standard rose 17 places, from 40 to 23. Maths rose 13 places, reading rose nine, and the combined reading, writing and maths measure rose eight, to the 20th percentile.
Two measures went backwards.
Maths at the higher standard fell. The proportion of Islington children reaching it dropped 0.9 percentage points, from 32.6% to 31.7%, and the borough slid ten places in the national rankings, from the 24th percentile to the 34th. It is still 4.7 percentage points ahead of England, but 4.1 percentage points behind London, the widest regional gap on any Key Stage 2 measure in the report.
Early years slipped too. The share of Islington children reaching a good level of development at the end of reception rose 2.8 percentage points, from 67.8% to 70.6%, but other councils rose faster: Islington fell seven places, from the 59th percentile to the 66th. It is the one stage where the borough is below the England average, by 1.7 percentage points, and it is 3.4 percentage points below London. The report says Islington remains on course for the Department for Education’s 2028 target of 74.1%.
The target the council has set itself
The report closes with the council’s own key performance indicators for schools. Every one of them is written against the regional figure, not the national one:
- early years good level of development, to be above regional
- early years, to meet the DfE’s 2028 targets
- phonics in Year 1, expected standard to be above regional
- all Key Stage 2 measures at the expected standard to be above regional
- Key Stage 4 Attainment 8, and English and maths at grade 4 or above, to be above regional
On the figures in this report, Islington clears almost none of those bars yet. It is 0.3 percentage points below London on phonics, 0.3 below on combined reading, writing and maths, 0.6 below on maths, 1.1 below on writing and 3.4 below on early years. The measures where it is already ahead of London are the higher standard in reading, writing and maths, and the A* to B and A* to C A-level bands.
The council’s education team says it will keep working through its Islington Professional Partners, who support school leaders across maintained schools and hold annual strategic partnership check-ins with academies, alongside the Department for Education’s Regional Improvement in Standards and Excellence team.
What it means for you
If you are choosing a school, these are borough-wide figures and not a ranking of individual schools. They tell you that Islington’s primaries are consistently ahead of the national average and that its sixth forms beat England on every A-level grade band, but they cannot tell you anything about a particular school. The Department for Education’s performance tables and each school’s own Ofsted report are the documents for that.
If your child is in Year 1, the phonics result is the one to know. The proportion meeting the expected standard rose from 77.7% to 83.2% in a year, the biggest single improvement anywhere in the report.
If your child is in reception, early years is the weak spot and the council has said so in its own papers. It is the only stage where Islington sits below the England average.
These numbers are provisional. The Key Stage 5 figures exclude London Screen Academy, and the report expects them to rise once remarks are returned. Confirmed figures are published later in the academic year.
Frequently asked questions
How did Islington do at GCSE in 2026?
27.8% of Islington GCSE results were a grade 7 or above, against 23.1% across England. 56.9% of English results were a grade 5 or above and 72.7% of maths results were a grade 4 or above, both higher than the England figures. Islington beat England at every grade benchmark, but the council’s report records that London and Islington’s statistical neighbours beat Islington at every one of them.
What were Islington’s A-level results in 2026?
The average point score rose from 37.4 in 2025 to 38.4 in 2026. 31.2% of entries were at the top two grades, 62.9% at the top three and 85.6% at the top four. All three are above the England figures. The top three and top four are above the London averages as well. The top two, at 31.2%, is below London’s 32.7%.
Are these the final Islington exam results?
No. They are provisional. The Key Stage 5 figures exclude London Screen Academy and the council expects them to rise once remarks are returned. Confirmed figures are published later in the academic year.
Which Islington result improved most?
Phonics at the end of Year 1. The proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard rose 5.5 percentage points to 83.2%, and Islington moved 38 places up the national local authority rankings, from the 74th percentile to the 36th.
Where is Islington behind?
Early years. 70.6% of children reached a good level of development at the end of reception, which is 1.7 percentage points below England and 3.4 below London, and Islington fell seven places in the national rankings. Maths at the higher standard in Key Stage 2 also fell, from 32.6% to 31.7%, and the borough dropped ten places.
Related
- Islington house prices: what the borough’s neighbourhoods cost, if you are moving for a school place.
- Islington council tax bands: the 2026/27 charge for every band.
- Islington planning news: what is being built across the borough.
Sources
- Islington Council, Provisional Outcomes 2026, report to the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee, 15 September 2026, published at islington.moderngov.co.uk. Every figure in this article is taken from that report.
- Islington Council, Students celebrate as they keep Islington above national averages for exam results, 26 August 2026, for the council’s own results-day statement.
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