Best Schools in Orpington

How many schools are there in Orpington?

Orpington has 36 open schools: 26 state primary, 4 state secondary or all-through and 6 special.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Orpington are rated Outstanding?

10 schools in Orpington were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Darrick Wood Infant & Nursery School, Perry Hall Primary School, Warren Road Primary School, Newstead Wood School, St James' Roman Catholic Primary School and 5 more. Counting Good as well, 97% of the 33 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Darrick Wood Infant & Nursery SchoolPerry Hall Primary SchoolWarren Road Primary SchoolNewstead Wood SchoolSt James' Roman Catholic Primary School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Orpington get the best GCSE results?

Of the 5 schools in Orpington with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 85 and 100% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Newstead Wood School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 79.5 and 98% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Darrick Wood School, with an Attainment 8 score of 51.3 and 51% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Selective schools admit by ability, so their raw results are not a like-for-like comparison with comprehensives. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar SchoolNewstead Wood SchoolDarrick Wood School

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Orpington have the best SATs results?

Of the 23 primary schools in Orpington with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at St James' Roman Catholic Primary School (94% in reading, 97% in maths); St Philomena's Primary School (96% in reading, 93% in maths); and Perry Hall Primary School (94% in reading, 94% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

St James' Roman Catholic Primary SchoolSt Philomena's Primary SchoolPerry Hall Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Orpington?

Yes. Newstead Wood School and St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School are state grammar schools in Orpington. Grammar schools admit pupils by ability through an entrance test, usually sat at the start of Year 6.

Newstead Wood SchoolSt Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Orpington have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Orpington have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Orpington?

Apply to your council - Bromley or Kent, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.