Harris City Academy Crystal Palace, London

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include debating and Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2026, pupils at Harris City Academy Crystal Palace averaged an Attainment 8 score of 52.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.4 in Croydon and 47 across England.

61% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 46% in Croydon and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 52.3.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.24: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 49.9, against 54.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 4.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 177 families put Harris City Academy Crystal Palace as their first choice and 938 named it as one of their preferences, for 210 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 65 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Harris City Academy Crystal Palace are Harris Academy South Norwood (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.4); Harris Academy Beulah Hill (0.8 miles, Attainment 8 49); Hillcrest (0.9 miles); and The Norwood School (1.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.9).

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace's 2026 results were higher than all 3 of them.

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is one of 59 schools run by Harris Federation, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 50.5 in 2024/25.

103 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Harris City Academy Crystal Palace (as of September 2025): 72% would recommend the school, 79% say their child is happy there and 67% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (85%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (67%).

Of the 177 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 87% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 19% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 184 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 59% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 20% into work. 17% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

35.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 34.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Black (51%), Mixed (15%) and Asian (12%).

In 2026, 101 pupils (8.5%) received SEN support and 31 (2.6%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Anerley Station, about 730 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cantley Gardens (->e), 110 metres away.

In 2024/25, Harris City Academy Crystal Palace issued 84 suspensions, 7.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Harris City Academy Crystal Palace are James Dixon Primary School (0.3 miles), Cypress Primary School (0.4 miles), All Saints CofE Primary School (0.4 miles) and Paxton Primary School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.