Rowdown Primary School, Croydon
Rowdown Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Croydon, part of Fairchildes Academy Community Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in October 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 31st-highest of the 34 schools in Croydon with published results, and 11,625th of 14,452 across England. It was 66% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Croydon (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Rowdown Primary School in detail
Results
In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils at Rowdown Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 71% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 80% and 80% in Croydon and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 56% in reading and 52% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Rowdown Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 32 families put Rowdown Primary School as their first choice and 57 named it as one of their preferences, for 32 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Rowdown Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Rowdown Primary School are Tudor Academy (0.5 miles, Good, 80% reading, 85% maths); Fairchildes Primary School (0.6 miles, Outstanding, 77% reading, 79% maths); Good Shepherd Catholic Primary and Nursery School (1 mile, Good, 71% reading, 65% maths); and Castle Hill Academy (1 mile, Good, 68% reading, 68% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Rowdown Primary School.
Tudor AcademyFairchildes Primary SchoolGood Shepherd Catholic Primary and Nursery SchoolCastle Hill Academy
The trust
Rowdown Primary School is one of 3 schools run by Fairchildes Academy Community Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
What parents say
37 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Rowdown Primary School (as of September 2025): 87% would recommend the school, 95% say their child is happy there and 69% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child is happy at the school (95%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (69%).
Who goes there
46.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 79 pupils (25%) received SEN support and 24 (7.6%) 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 speech, language and communication needs.
Rowdown Primary School has a resourced provision for autism: 20 places, 20 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is New Addington Tram Stop, about 630 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).
9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Redstart Close (->n), 190 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Rowdown Primary School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 146 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences and vehicle crime. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Croydon (488).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Rowdown Primary School issued 10 suspensions, 3.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from October 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Rowdown is a caring, welcoming school where children feel comfortable and supported to learn. The curriculum is broad and engaging, with excellent reading teaching and strong support for all learners including those with additional needs. Pupils develop confidence and responsibility through residential trips, clubs, and opportunities to lead activities for their peers.
Key Strengths
- Broad, ambitious curriculum that captures pupils' interest and motivates them to learn well
- Strong focus on reading with carefully chosen texts and effective phonics teaching for early readers
- Excellent personal development including residential visits, extensive clubs, and opportunities for pupils to take responsibility
- Precise identification and tailored support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities
- Calm, settled school environment where pupils behave sensibly and use strategies to manage their feelings
Areas for Improvement
- Checks on pupils' understanding sometimes lack precision, meaning misconceptions are not identified and addressed effectively
- Pupils not consistently encouraged to use key subject vocabulary when talking and writing, which hinders their recall of important terms
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective and prioritise pupils' interests.
Extracurricular Activities
Steel pans lessons, football, residential visits to Finland, museum and gallery excursions, lunchtime activity leadership
Rowdown Primary School is a welcoming school where staff work closely with families to support pupils' education. The school has maintained its Good rating across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision, with Personal development rated as Outstanding.
At a Glance
46.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Autism
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
37 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 56% to 61% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 52% to 71% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 65% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
22.5
Avg class size
21.2
Infant (KS1)
23.3
KS2
13
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Rowdown Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Rowdown Primary School.
- New Addington Leisure & Community Centre Holiday Playscheme520m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Rowdown Primary School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Croydon's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Tube / Metro / Tram
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Rowdown Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Rowdown Primary School is in Croydon; for families living there:
Apply to Croydon for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 24
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 6
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 24 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 19 slight.
6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise.
4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Croydon is 54.5 (the median across 156 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Rowdown Primary School
Will you get a place at Rowdown Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Rowdown Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Rowdown Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Rowdown Primary School.
- Croydon publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Rowdown Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Rowdown Primary School for 2015 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Croydon got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
66%
Available places
286 pupils
433 places
147 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Croydon
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Croydon
Across Croydon council
Places available
4,828
Applications
4,082
Got 1st preference
89.6%
Got preferred school
99.2%
All primary applications across Croydon council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
79
SEN Support
24
EHC Plans
32.6%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Rowdown Primary School has a resourced provision for autism: 20 places, 20 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
316
Total Pupils
153
Boys
163
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
17
Teachers
18.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£55,194
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,678
Per pupil
£2178k
Total funding
£221k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.9%
Overall absence
18.4%
Persistent absence
277
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Rowdown Primary School
Questions parents ask about Rowdown Primary School
What are SATs results like at Rowdown Primary School?
Of the pupils at Rowdown Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 61% reached the expected standard in reading and 71% did so in maths.
What is Rowdown Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Rowdown Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in October 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Rowdown Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Rowdown Primary School is oversubscribed, Croydon allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Rowdown Primary School?
Rowdown Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 66% of its 433 places.
How big are the classes at Rowdown Primary School?
Classes at Rowdown Primary School average 22.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Rowdown Primary School?
Rowdown Primary School has around 316 pupils on roll. 47% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Rowdown Primary School have specialist SEN provision?
Rowdown Primary School has a resourced provision for autism: 20 places, 20 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Rowdown Primary School?
6.9% of sessions were missed at Rowdown Primary School in 2024/25. 18.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Rowdown Primary School?
Apply through Croydon's coordinated admissions process, naming Rowdown Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Rowdown Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of Rowdown Primary School: New Addington Leisure & Community Centre Holiday Playscheme (520m away, registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Rowdown Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 24 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 19 slight. 6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise. 4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Croydon is 54.5 (the median across 156 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Rowdown Primary School?
Rowdown Primary School is at Calley Down Crescent, New Addington, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 0EG.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)