David Livingstone Academy, Thornton Heath

From the headteacher's welcome: "On behalf of the children and staff, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to David Livingstone Academy. We are extremely proud of the strong values, educational achievements and the opportunities that our pupils experience throughout their educational journey here."

The school runs after-school care until 5:00pm.

In 2025, 88% of Year 6 pupils at David Livingstone Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 92% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 80% and 80% in Croydon and 77% and 75% across England.

Results rose from 83% in reading and 80% in maths in 2024.

With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.

For September 2026 entry, 36 families put David Livingstone Academy as their first choice and 147 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 12 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state primary schools to David Livingstone Academy are St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy (under 0.1 miles, Requires improvement, 73% reading, 68% maths); Beulah Junior School (0.4 miles, Requires improvement, 74% reading, 74% maths); Beulah Infants' School (0.4 miles, Good); and St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School (0.4 miles, Outstanding, 84% reading, 82% maths).

David Livingstone Academy's 2025 results were higher than all 3 of them.

David Livingstone Academy is one of 19 schools run by Step Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's primary schools, 80% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.

42 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about David Livingstone Academy (as of September 2025): 95% would recommend the school, 98% say their child is happy there and 100% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (100%); the weakest, that the school supports their child's wider development (81%).

41.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Black (31%), Mixed (25%) and Asian (20%).

In 2026, 32 pupils (16.2%) received SEN support and 6 (3%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.

David Livingstone Academy had 14 teachers in 2026, one for every 14 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.

The nearest railway station is Thornton Heath Rail Station, about 1200 metres away (roughly a 15-minute walk).

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Howberry Road (s-bound), 110 metres away.

In 2024/25, David Livingstone Academy issued 7 suspensions, 3.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The secondary schools closest to David Livingstone Academy are Harris Academy Beulah Hill (0.3 miles), Norbury High School for Girls (0.8 miles), Hillcrest (0.9 miles) and St Joseph's College (0.9 miles).