Best Schools in South Croydon

How many schools are there in South Croydon?

South Croydon has 20 open schools: 9 state primary, 3 state secondary or all-through, 3 independent and 5 special.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Are there any Outstanding schools in South Croydon?

None of the 15 graded schools in South Croydon currently holds an Outstanding rating. 13 are rated Good, so 87% are 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.

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in South Croydon get the best GCSE results?

Of the 3 schools in South Croydon with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Coombe Wood School, with an Attainment 8 score of 53.9 and 55% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Harris Academy Purley, with an Attainment 8 score of 52.2 and 61% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and The Quest Academy, with an Attainment 8 score of 40.5 and 35% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Coombe Wood SchoolHarris Academy PurleyThe Quest Academy

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in South Croydon have the best SATs results?

Of the 8 primary schools in South Croydon with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at St Peter's Primary School (95% in reading, 93% in maths); Atwood Primary School (95% in reading, 90% in maths); and Gresham Primary School (89% in reading, 93% 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 Peter's Primary SchoolAtwood Primary SchoolGresham Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in South Croydon?

No. None of the state secondary schools in South Croydon selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in South Croydon have catchment areas?

Most state schools in South Croydon have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, Croydon 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 South Croydon?

Apply to Croydon 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. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.