[2] There are approximately 1132 pupils in the school aged 11–18[3], The current Headteacher is Jamie Brownhill who has occupied the post since 2010.

Reverend William Rogers, a social reformer who had already established eight schools,[4] became convinced that London was full of academies for gentlemen and much had been done for the poor but there was little on offer for parents who could afford about £1 (equivalent to £1000 today) for a quarter term for their education.

[5] In February 1865 he called a meeting of his wealthy friends at the Mansion House and raised £41,000 for the establishment of a middle class school.

[4] By the time The Great Hall of the main building was erected in 1873, there were over 900 boys in attendance with it reaching 1,000 at its peak.

[5] Five years later, the Founder's Day guest speaker Lord Lingen noted the school's royal links and asked his friend Sir Albert Woods, Garter Principal King of Arms, to design a coat-of-arms for the school which Lingen then had executed in two dies and stamps.

[6] During the First World War of 1914 to 1918, the school remained in London, despite an unexploded bomb falling through the roof of the Great Hall.

Other than this, little damage was suffered, and in 1923 the governors acquired 3.5 acres of land at Muswell Hill for use as playing fields.

[9] In 1966 a service of thanksgiving was held on 4 October at the Church of St Botolph's to celebrate the school's centenary.

In the same year, the first bricks were laid on the construction of a three-storey site primarily to house the Sixth Form but also including extra science classrooms.

In 2006 the building which had been leased to the council for use as a court expired and returned to school ownership, it was refurbished across the following two years.

Shortly after this the on-site playing fields and staff car park were refurbished into an all-seasons, covered Astro-turf pitch.

[6] Amidst changes in government targets, the school's exam results have been improving since 2010, with a 17% rise in GCSE grades that year[10] before breaking the Islington record for the highest GCSE grades achieved by any school in the borough with 82% of pupils achieving 5 A* – Cs including English and maths in 2013.

[13] In 1926 Mr Gibson renamed them[8] after men who had done the school great service in its formative years and associated one quarter of the coat-of-arms to each house as a badge.

Due to the sixth form consortium with other schools, a wider choice of subjects is offered at A-level.

The sixth form also offers BTEC Diplomas which are vocational courses based around a single subject and are taught exclusively at Central Foundation rather than across the consortium.

[17] Until the establishment of the General Certificate of Education, exams were set once a year by an external examiner(s) appointed by the governors, who reported on the proficiency of pupils and the condition of the school.

Upwards of 80% of pupils achieve A* – C grades in at least five of their GCSE subjects including English and maths which had been used by the government as a benchmark; Central Foundation was the first school in Islington to break the 80% barrier.

The school offers football, cricket, basketball, boxing, fencing, table tennis, rock climbing and athletics.

The Middle Class School was originally opened at a former home for Huguenot weavers on Bath Street.

The teaching space was expanded slightly in 1894 when the science extension was erected, opening up the original building for an increasing number of applicants.

During the First World War, little damage was suffered but an unexploded bomb fell through the roof of the Great Hall.

The Lord Mayor reopened the Great Hall in 1951 and the Duchess of Gloucester opened the Physics Lecture Theatre in 1954.

The library remained there until 2008 and the sixth form common room was returned in 2014 after moving to the other side of the site.

As was intended at the time, the land fronting the site was later landscaped for football, cricket and tennis lessons, however hopes for a swimming pool never materialised.

From 1988 to 1995 the Department of Education helped fund the conversion of the ground floor into six additional teaching rooms, chiefly used for maths and law.

The most recent change to the grounds came in 2007 when the governors sold the playing fields and car park at the front of the Sixth Form Building to create the Bézier luxury flats, in order to fund an all-seasons covered Astroturf pitch as well as the Court Building's refurbishment.