Best secondary schools in Camden: A 2026 guide for parents

Camden is a small, tightly packed inner London borough with roughly ten mainstream state secondary schools plus a well-known independent and sixth form scene layered around them. That density means most families end up ranking a similar handful of preferences, and cross-borough applications into Islington, Westminster, Brent and Barnet are common.

Two national changes matter before you compare any two schools. Ofsted removed single-word grades for state schools in September 2024, and on 10 November 2025 it moved to report cards that grade each school across several evaluation areas (inclusion, curriculum and teaching, achievement, attendance and behaviour, personal development and wellbeing, leadership and governance, plus early years and sixth form where relevant) on a five-point scale (Exceptional, Strong Standard, Expected Standard, Needs Attention, Urgent Improvement), with safeguarding marked 'met' or 'not met'. Progress 8, the value-added measure most parents will recognise, has also been paused for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 cycles because KS2 tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021, so these cohorts have no baseline to measure progress from. Attainment 8, %5+ 9-4 in English and Maths and EBacc APS are the headline metrics for now.

Camden's secondaries don't all admit the same way. Camden's five community schools admit by looked-after status, siblings, social or medical need, staff children and then straight-line distance. Some schools that set their own admissions, such as Camden School for Girls, use banding assessments. Faith schools set their own religious criteria, then use distance as a tie-breaker. For a full walkthrough of the shared form, see our secondary school application guide.

A quick note on catchments: Camden schools don't publish fixed radius numbers because the effective distance shifts every year with sibling volume and how many families in each postcode apply on-time. Consult each school's admissions team, or read the previous year's furthest distance offered on their admissions page, rather than treating any single figure as gospel.

The borough's ten mainstream state secondaries are listed below in no particular order; check each on the DfE Compare school and college performance service for Attainment 8, %5+ 9-4 in English and Maths, and EBacc average points score. Where a school has a recent Ofsted inspection date we've noted it; from November 2025 onwards, judgements sit on the new report card model.

UCL Academy is a co-educational, non-selective academy in Swiss Cottage, sponsored by University College London. The partnership feeds into a distinctive STEM offer and a strong sixth form, with academic and pastoral links back to the university across the year.

Admission is non-selective with no faith criterion. Check the school's current determined admission arrangements for any banding or aptitude places. Last graded Good by Ofsted (May 2024).

Camden School for Girls is a state girls' comprehensive in NW5 with a co-educational sixth form. Well known for music, with dedicated music-aptitude places, and typically among the borough's most oversubscribed schools.

Admission is by a banding assessment in Year 6, with a small number of music-aptitude places, then distance. There is no faith criterion. The sixth form runs its own application process with subject grade thresholds. Last graded Good by Ofsted (June 2022), with a strong prior history of Outstanding judgements. The new report card model applies at re-inspection.

William Ellis is a state boys' school for Year 7 to 11 in Highgate Road, founded in 1862. Its co-educational sixth form runs as part of the LaSWAP consortium alongside La Sainte Union, Acland Burghley and Parliament Hill, letting students take subjects across all four sites.

Check the school's current determined admission arrangements. William Ellis is voluntary-aided and sets its own criteria. Consult the school's admissions page for current PAN and previous-year distance data.

Parliament Hill is a state girls' school for Year 7 to 11 next to Hampstead Heath. Like William Ellis, it takes part in the LaSWAP sixth-form consortium, so post-16 students can pick from a wider timetable than any single school could offer alone. Admission follows Camden's community-school criteria: siblings, then straight-line distance. Longstanding reputation for humanities and modern languages.

Acland Burghley is a mixed comprehensive in Tufnell Park, distinctive for its Grade II listed brutalist buildings by Howell, Killick, Partridge and Amis. Long-standing arts and music programme, and part of the LaSWAP sixth-form consortium. Admission by Camden's community-school criteria (siblings, then distance), with no faith criterion.

Hampstead School is a mixed comprehensive in West Hampstead. Hampstead runs its own sixth form. Broad comprehensive offer. Admission is non-selective: siblings, then straight-line distance. Effective catchments can be tight near the Camden-Brent border.

Haverstock is a mixed comprehensive in Chalk Farm with a broad academic and vocational offer. It runs strong pastoral support and a well-established sixth form.

Admission follows Camden's community-school criteria (siblings, then distance). Its sixth form offers a place to all students regardless of predicted grades. Consult the school's admissions team for current PAN and catchment specifics.

Regent High is a mixed comprehensive on Chalton Street near Somers Town, with a large proportion of disadvantaged pupils and a pastoral offer built around that context. It's well-regarded for how it supports pupils through the transition into secondary.

Admission is non-selective: siblings, then straight-line distance. Read Attainment 8 alongside the disadvantaged-pupil figures on the school's compare-schools page for a fair comparison with other Camden secondaries.

La Sainte Union is a state Catholic girls' school for Year 7 to 13 in Highgate Road, part of the LaSWAP sixth-form consortium. Voluntary-aided status means the governing body sets its own faith-based admissions criteria.

Admission gives priority to baptised Catholic pupils and requires a supplementary information form alongside the pan-London application. Non-Catholic families should still consult the school directly about foundation and open places.

Maria Fidelis is a state mixed Catholic secondary near Euston. It sits within the Diocese of Westminster and follows FCJ (Faithful Companions of Jesus) ethos.

Admission gives priority to Catholic applicants through a supplementary information form. See the school's published criteria for the full order. Consult the school's admissions team for the current published criteria and last year's furthest distance.

Post-16, Camden students have three main routes: the LaSWAP consortium (La Sainte Union, William Ellis, Acland Burghley, Parliament Hill), which pools A-Level teaching across four sites and is the biggest single option in the borough; the borough's other school sixth forms (including Camden School for Girls, Hampstead, Haverstock, UCL Academy and Maria Fidelis, per Camden's published admission arrangements); and cross-borough choices, including the standalone selective free schools listed in our best sixth forms in London guide, which are worth serious consideration if your child is aiming at competitive university courses.

For a fuller picture of how sixth form works and how applications differ from Year 6 admissions, see our what is sixth form explainer.

Don't over-index on any one metric. Attainment 8 shows what pupils achieved on average, not how much progress they made from KS2 (Progress 8 would, but it's paused for two cycles). A school's Ofsted report card gives a separate judgement for each evaluation area, and the narrative is more useful than any single label.

Visit open evenings, then try to visit again on a normal weekday if you can. Talk to current parents about the day-to-day. Look at the sixth form even if your child is only starting Year 7, because a strong sixth form can be one sign of a stable school. And be realistic about your effective catchment: a school two miles away in a densely populated borough may not be genuinely accessible, even if pan-London admissions technically lets you rank it.

Applications for entry in September 2027 open in September 2026. The on-time deadline is 31 October 2026. National offer day is 1 March 2027. Any faith school supplementary form runs to the school's own deadline, which can be slightly earlier, so check each school's admissions page in September when your Year 6 starts.