Al-Zahra School Review 2026: A small girls’ day school with a clear faith ethos and improving regulatory compliance

Set in Queen’s Park, this is a small independent day school for girls aged 8 to 16, with entry points spanning upper primary through to Key Stage 4. Its size, published capacity is 210, often appeals to families who want a close-knit setting with strong pastoral familiarity and an Islamic ethos woven through daily routines and curriculum priorities.

On academic outcomes, the school’s GCSE profile is stronger than many local comparators, and its FindMySchool GCSE ranking places it comfortably within the top quarter of schools in England. The more complicated recent story is regulatory, with a routine inspection in late 2024 followed by a progress monitoring inspection in 2025, which is relevant context for families doing due diligence.

A defining feature here is alignment, in values, routines, expectations, and a clearly articulated sense of identity. The curriculum pages and inspection narrative both point to an education that aims to combine academic ambition with personal development framed through faith and British civic life. That tends to suit families who want coherence between home and school culture, and who value structure and explicit norms around conduct and community contribution.

Scale shapes the day-to-day experience. With an enrolment around the low hundreds, staffing lists show a lean leadership structure and staff wearing multiple hats, including designated roles for safeguarding, health and safety, examinations, learning support, and subject leadership. The benefit is familiarity and responsiveness. The trade-off is that breadth, whether in specialist facilities or enrichment choice, can be more constrained than at larger London independents.

The head teacher named across the school’s staffing pages and recent inspection documentation is Mrs Zamina Rizvi. A public appointment date is not stated in the sources accessible for this review, but her name appears consistently in official and school-published materials, including the most recent ISI documentation.

The school is ranked 1,083rd in England and 9th in Brent for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), which places it above England average and within the top 25% of schools in England.

Looking at the underlying indicators available:

• Attainment 8: 48.3, indicating a solid overall GCSE outcomes picture.

• EBacc average point score: 4.74, higher than the England benchmark of 4.08.

• Grade 5+ in EBacc subjects: 33.3%.

What this means in practice is that outcomes look strongest when students are securely placed in a curriculum that supports consistent progress across the core and academic option set. The published secondary curriculum outline also shows a fairly traditional academic spine with humanities, languages, and computing alongside faith-specific study. For families who want a conventional GCSE pathway within a faith-framed environment, that alignment matters.

A practical note for parents comparing schools: the school’s own website publishes headline exam statements for recent cohorts, but for consistency across schools, the figures above are taken from the FindMySchool dataset and should be used as the main benchmark when shortlisting.

Curriculum design is split explicitly into upper primary (Years 4 to 6) and secondary (Key Stages 3 and 4). At upper primary, the school references a national curriculum foundation supported by named resources and structured overviews. The most useful implication for families is continuity, pupils are likely to experience a fairly consistent instructional style as they move into the secondary phase because the school frames both stages within a single all-through model.

At Key Stage 3, the subject list is broad and recognisable: English, mathematics, science, humanities, French, computing, physical education, PSHE, plus Arabic, Qur’an, and religious studies. At Key Stage 4, the GCSE offer includes the standard core plus options such as business studies and psychology, with science routes spanning combined and separate sciences. The “example, evidence, implication” here is straightforward: psychology at GCSE is specifically referenced as a recent curricular addition in inspection documentation, which suggests the school adjusts options in response to student interest and cohort needs; for students who benefit from choice and relevance, that can increase motivation and subject fit.

The most recent routine inspection narrative also points to variability between lessons, with strong practice where lessons are well planned and demanding, and less consistent challenge in others. For parents, the implication is to ask direct questions about how the school assures consistency: how schemes of work are monitored, how feedback is standardised, and what happens when a student is ready for stretch beyond the core lesson.

There is no sixth form, so the main transition is post-16 after GCSEs. The school highlights progression to competitive destinations, including Russell Group routes, and it presents a narrative of graduates moving into professional pathways. Because published destination statistics are not presented in a clear, auditable numerical format, the most sensible use of this information is directional rather than definitive: families should treat it as an indicator of aspiration and guidance, then validate current patterns by asking what the last cohort actually chose post-16, and how many students remained in North West London versus travelling further afield for sixth form.

A useful contextual clue is the school’s academic framing of Key Stage 4, including structured mocks and predicted grades for college applications, which suggests a deliberate focus on supporting sixth form transition planning. The implication for families is that students who need a clear runway into external sixth form options may find the process more guided than in schools that treat post-16 as a separate, less structured step.

Admissions are direct and vacancy-led, with multiple potential entry points. The school accepts girls from Year 4 to Year 10, and it encourages joining at the start of the academic year, while also allowing in-year entry subject to places available, with Year 11 treated as the key exception. For families, that creates two distinct routes: planned entry in September, or opportunistic entry when spaces open mid-year.

Assessment is age-dependent. Upper primary applicants are assessed in English and mathematics. Secondary applicants add science, followed by an interview with the headteacher if the assessments are successful. The practical implication is that this is not a “sign up and start” model, it is selective in the sense of ensuring readiness for the curriculum and classroom pace, even if it is not operating like a test-heavy London senior school.

A distinctive feature is internal progression from the linked Al-Sadiq setting into Year 4, which can be relevant for families already in that school community. For external applicants, the key question is availability, because admissions are explicitly tied to vacancies rather than a large annual intake.

Parents weighing options should use the FindMySchool Map Search to sanity-check travel time and realistic day-to-day logistics, particularly in a busy North West London corridor where a short journey on paper can feel longer at peak times.

Pastoral structures are described in inspection documentation as a combination of form periods with individual attention, a PSHE programme that covers online safety and discrimination, and mechanisms for students to raise concerns, including anonymous reporting. The implication for families is that support is not purely informal; it is built into routines and timetabled provision, which can matter for students who are quieter or less likely to self-advocate.

Learning support appears formalised, with separate primary and secondary SENCo roles listed, and inspection documentation describing individual education plans and review cycles. For parents of children with mild to moderate additional needs, the practical question to ask is what “support” looks like in lessons, whether it is classroom strategies, withdrawal groups, or targeted interventions, and how that support is balanced with maintaining high expectations.

Regulatory context matters here. The 2024 inspection record raised issues around safeguarding implementation and leadership oversight, and the later monitoring activity indicates that safeguarding and related systems have been an area of focused improvement work. The parent-facing implication is simple: ask how safeguarding training is refreshed, how concerns are recorded, and how governance checks that systems are consistently followed.

For a smaller school, enrichment tends to be shaped by what is feasible at scale, and the most recent routine inspection documentation explicitly pointed to co-curricular breadth as an area to develop. That said, the school does publish evidence of cultural and community events, and it also lists structured clubs in some areas, particularly sport and creative activities.

A good example of how culture and activity intersect is the Year 4 Takleef celebration, which the school describes as involving performance elements across year groups, including a play, nasheeds, and poetry. For families seeking a faith-aligned community experience, this kind of event is not a bolt-on; it is part of how pupils experience belonging, confidence-building, and public speaking.

On the more conventional clubs front, the school’s published clubs listing references activities such as an upper primary gymnastics club and other sports and arts options. The key implication is to treat enrichment as something to interrogate in detail: what runs every term, what depends on staffing that year, and what the school does for students who want higher levels of competition, performance, or accreditation.

Academically, the routine inspection report references writing competitions and an annual poetry competition, which is a useful signal of enrichment that reinforces literacy and confidence, even where the overall clubs menu may be narrower than at larger schools.

Term dates are published for the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

Daily start and finish times are not clearly stated in the sources accessed for this review, and families should confirm the school day, homework expectations, and any supervised study arrangements directly. Wraparound care is a particularly important question for families with children in Years 4 to 6; while the school publishes after-school club information, the precise hours, supervision model, and whether care runs later than clubs should be clarified before relying on it.

Transport links are a genuine practical advantage. Queen’s Park station is on Salusbury Road, close to the school’s local area, with additional nearby options including Kilburn Park on the Bakerloo line and Brondesbury Park on London Overground.

Fees & Financial Aid

The school publishes fees on a per-term basis by phase. For Years 4 to 6, fees are £1,550 per term plus VAT. For Years 7 to 11, fees are £2,330 per term plus VAT.

From January 2025, private school fees in the UK are subject to VAT at the standard rate, so families should treat the VAT element as a meaningful part of the total cost and confirm how it is applied on invoices and payment schedules.

On financial support, the Independent Schools Council listing for the school indicates no scholarships or bursaries. Families for whom affordability is borderline should discuss payment structures and any discretionary support directly, but should not assume formal fee remission is available.

• Recent regulatory history. The late 2024 routine inspection identified unmet standards in leadership and management oversight, wellbeing systems, and safeguarding practice. The later monitoring work indicates improvement, but parents should still ask detailed questions about governance checks and safeguarding process discipline.

• Breadth of co-curricular choice. Inspection documentation flagged co-curricular range as an area for development. This may be fine for families who prioritise academics and ethos; it may be limiting for students seeking extensive sport, performing arts, or competitive clubs.

• No sixth form. Students will need a clear post-16 plan and an application strategy for external sixth forms or colleges. Families should check how much structured guidance and interview preparation is provided in Year 11.

• VAT increases the real fee. Fees are published as “plus VAT”, and from January 2025 VAT applies to private school fees. Budgeting should therefore be done on an all-in basis rather than the headline term fee.

This is a focused, faith-aligned girls’ school where small scale and clear expectations can work very well for the right student. The academic profile, as reflected in the FindMySchool GCSE ranking, is above England average, and the curriculum is recognisably academic while also integrating Arabic and religious study.

It suits families who want a coherent Islamic ethos, a smaller community feel, and a structured GCSE pathway, and who are comfortable with the fact that post-16 progression requires an external move. The main decision point is not academic ambition so much as fit and due diligence: parents should weigh enrichment breadth and satisfy themselves on the strength and consistency of safeguarding and governance systems given the recent inspection history.