Riverside School, Orpington

Outstanding
Special
Community special school
Mixed
Ages 319

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Steve Solomons
Pupils:360 / 319 capacity
LA:Bromley
Phone:01689870519
Address:Main Road, St Paul's Cray, Orpington, BR5 3HS
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open
Opened:1 September 2007

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 7 years ago
Outstanding

Overall

Outstanding

Leadership & Management

Inspected 30 April 2019
URN:135232
UKPRN:10022976
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Orpington
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

Ofsted rated this school Outstanding at its April 2019 inspection — up from Good.

Rated Outstanding for

Leadership & management.

A plain-English summary of the full inspection report is coming soon.

At a Glance

38.7%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

Yes

Nursery

Yes

Sixth Form

ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty

SEN Provision

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

48 responses
Would recommend92%
Child is happy88%
Well taught90%
Good progress90%
Feels safe85%
Well behaved77%
Bullying dealt with6%
Kept informed85%
Handles concerns52%
Wider development83%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
ReadingMathsWriting

Reading has remained stable at around 0%. Maths has remained stable at around 0%. Writing has remained stable at around 0%.

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Train Stations

St Mary Cray Station (Entrance)
1.2km · 19 min walk

Bus Stops

Main Road (->E)
345m · 6 min walk
Walsingham Road (BR5) (Stop P)
353m · 6 min walk
Broomwood Road St Paul's Cray (Stop Q)
394m · 6 min walk
Chalk Pit Avenue (->W)
439m · 7 min walk
The Landway (->N)
516m · 8 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

113%

Over capacity

360 pupils

319 capacity

41 places over capacity

Area Demand Pressure - Orpington

High pressure
New homes approved:1,858
Projected new pupils:334

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Orpington

Admissions Demand - Bromley

Low demand0.92x oversubscription

Places available

3,914

Applications

3,602

Got 1st preference

67.3%

Got preferred school

95.0%

Secondary admissions across Bromley (2025/26)

Inspection History(4)

30 April 2019
Outstanding
Leadership & ManagementOutstanding
2 December 2014
Good
Quality of EducationGood
Behaviour & AttitudesOutstanding
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementGood
Early YearsGood
Sixth FormRequires Improvement
2 November 2011
Good
Quality of EducationGood
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementGood
Early YearsGood
Sixth FormGood

House Prices

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

11.81766%

Overall absence

35.76389%

Persistent absence

288

Enrolments

Authorised9.5705%
Unauthorised2.24716%
Persistent (10%+)35.76389%
Severe (50%+)4.86111%

Absence trend

9.0706%
18/19
14.61206%
20/21
12.1247%
21/22
11.88374%
22/23
12.0624%
23/24
11.81766%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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Feeder Primary Schools

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Showing 10 of 15 linked schools

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