Highbury Grove’s journey to academy status has been completed after the government confirmed the City of London Academies Trust is now its official sponsor.

The trust has been in place to lead the City of London Academy Highbury Grove since September, under a “service level agreement”, but now has full control of the reins after reaching a funding deal with the Department for Education.

City of London Corporation, which owns the trust, is ranked as one of the top academy sponsors in the country for pupil progress – and this year educational charity the Sutton Trust said its academies were the highest performing for attainment and progress of disadvantaged students.

In contrast to the damning Ofsted report that put Highbury Grove School in special measures back in February, inspectors visiting in September as part of a statutory requirement found a “well-ordered environment in which pupils behave well”.

A large part of the report placed emphasis on the new disciplinary measures put in place to improve behaviour at the school.

Students line up at the start of the day, end of break and end of lunch, it said, and are led into lessons by their teachers to deter late starts and truanting.

Trust chair Andrew McMurtrie said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the school and its students into the trust family.

“The trust is committed to providing access to first class learning opportunities for young people in Islington and the wider community of London.

“We will continue to work closely with Islington Council and the partner schools to ensure the sixth form continues to deliver outstanding education, helping students reach their full academic potential.”

Since September there have been 34 new members of staff appointed at the school, with Clare Verga – principal of the City of London Academy Islington since September 2012 – introduced as “executive principal”.

According to the report, Miss Verga has developed strategies “to ensure that staff and pupils all have a common understanding of behaviour expectations”, with staff empowered by her “strong leadership” and “high-quality training”.