At Highbury Grove and Islington, we are incredibly proud of the broad and challenging educational experiences we are able to offer our students, meeting their individual needs and aspirations.
Our longstanding collaboration with our sister secondary, City of London Academy Islington (COLAI), has allowed us to build and sustain rich and varied A level and BTEC pathways for our students, plus elite sports programmes for basketball, and now football launching in September 2026.
A level courses
- Biology
- Business
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Economics
- English Language
- English Literature
- Fine Art
- French
- Geography
- History
- Mathematics
- Media Studies
- Music
- Physics
- Politics
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Spanish
We have a responsibility to all of our students to ensure that they are on appropriate courses. We take this responsibility very seriously and look to discuss students’ future plans during the enrolment process as well as on results day in the summer.
- Average grade 6 in all level 2 qualifications
- Level 6 in both GCSE English Language and GCSE Mathematics.
- Meet individual subject entry criteria that reflect their unique demands
| Subject | Additional Subject Specific Requirements |
|---|---|
| Biology | Minimum grade 6 in Biology or 6/6 in Biology units for Core and Additional Science. |
| Business | Minimum grade 6 in Business. |
| Chemistry | Minimum grade 6 in Chemistry or 6/6 in Chemistry units for Core and Additional Science. |
| Computer Science | Minimum grade 6 in a related subject. |
| Economics | Minimum grade 6 in Economics. |
| English Language & Literature | Minimum grade 6 in English Language and English Literature. |
| English Literature | Minimum grade 6 in English Literature. |
| Fine Art | Minimum grade 6 in Art or a related subject. |
| French | Minimum grade 6 in French (unless native language). |
| Geography | Minimum grade 6 in Geography. |
| Government & Politics | Minimum grade 6 in a Humanities and/or essay based subject. |
| History | Minimum grade 6 in History. |
| Maths | Minimum grade 7 in Maths. |
| Media | Minimum grade 6 in Media and/or an essay based subject. |
| Music | 8 or 9 in Music, or the ability to play an instrument to a high level and a separate interview. |
| Physics | Minimum grade 7 in Maths and grade 6 in Physics or 6/6 in Physics units for Core and Additional Science. |
| Psychology | Minimum grade 6 in Biology or 6/6 in Biology units for Core and Additional Science. |
| Sociology | Minimum grade 6 in a Humanities and/or essay based subject. |
| Spanish | Minimum grade 6 in Spanish (unless native language). |
Vocational courses
- Level 3 BTEC Applied Art
- Level 3 BTEC Business
- Level 3 BTEC Sport
We have a responsibility to all of our students to ensure that they are on appropriate courses. We take this responsibility very seriously and look to discuss students’ future plans during the enrolment process as well as on results day in the summer.
- Average grade 5 in all level 2 qualifications
- Level 5 in both GCSE English Language and GCSE Mathematics
- Meeting individual subject entry criteria that reflect their unique demands
| Subject | Subject Specific Requirements |
|---|---|
| Art & Design | Either Minimum grade 5 Art GCSE or Art level 2 vocational at merit and above. |
| Business | Either Business GCSE minimum grade 5 or Business level 2 vocational (OCR or BTEC) at merit and above is desirable. If neither qualification gained then good prior knowledge of Business is advisable. |
| Sport | Either PE GCSE minimum grade 5 or BTEC. |