A council (local authority) in London
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are above England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Croydon at a glance
How Croydon's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
87 mainstream schools in Croydon, best first
Results well above the England average.
107 first choices, 59 offers made
Met the standard at 1182%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
64 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1190%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 1182%
England 62%
24 mainstream schools in Croydon, best first
Results well above the England average.
480 first choices, 299 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1655.3
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
125 first choices, 160 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1656.8
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
177 first choices, 210 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1652.9
England 46.2
163 in Croydon, highest Ofsted grade first
Croydon, CR0 8DS · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Croydon, CR0 3LJ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Purley, CR8 2NE · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 5
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
34 in Croydon, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
480 first choices, 299 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1655.3
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
125 first choices, 160 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1656.8
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
177 first choices, 210 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1652.9
England 46.2
18 in Croydon. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Thornton Heath, CR7 7BN · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
South Croydon, CR2 8HD · Special · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Purley, CR8 2AN · Independent · Secondary · Ages 10 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
25 in Croydon. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Purley, CR8 2AN · Independent · Secondary · Ages 10 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Croydon, CR0 6BE · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16 · Boys
Independent school. Results well above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1656.1
England 46.2
Cr0 3ra · Independent · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Croydon is a London borough with 87 mainstream primary schools and 24 mainstream secondary schools. 27.5% of secondary offers are for a school in another council, against 8.0% across England. Independent schools are common too, with 25 in the area.
From Croydon council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
89.6%got their first-choice primary school in Croydon in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 119 of 151 councils. 98.2% got one of their top three.10.5% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
71.2%got their first-choice secondary school in Croydon in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 130 of 151 councils. 91.0% got one of their top three.27.5% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
1 of 27 primary appeals heard in Croydon succeeded in 2025. 2 of 39 secondary appeals heard in Croydon succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 2 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 22 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Croydon school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
5 Outstanding, 115 Good, 2 need to improve.
163nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
93% Good or better. 68% met the standard at 11.
109schools
Ages 11 to 16
2 Outstanding, 11 Good, 1 need to improve. 46% got grade 5 in English and maths.
51schools
1 Outstanding, 9 Good, 2 need to improve. About 7 pupils per teacher.
18schools
Here's how Croydon's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
CroydonEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 71 primaries with one.
93%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
13 of the 14 with a grade.
93%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
68%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
46%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
19%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
28%
Latest graded inspection for the 110 schools that have one.
92%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
Croydon in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Croydon | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 92% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 68% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 46.0 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 19% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.1:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,746 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 92% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 59% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 21% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 33% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 31% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 306, ONS code E09000008.
Croydon has 311 schools and nurseries.
Pupil numbers are about the same as in 2018.
28% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Croydon's state schools each January.
Up 1% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Croydon28%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Croydon has 311 schools, including 109 primary schools, 51 secondary schools, 163 nurseries, 25 independent schools, 18 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Croydon on Eduscope are Rockmount Primary School, Beaumont Primary School, Park Hill Junior School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
92% of inspected schools in Croydon hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 20 schools rated Outstanding and 81 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Croydon, 68% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Croydon is 18.1:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Croydon is 18.7%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 56,323 pupils enrolled across schools in Croydon, with 32,087 in primary and 23,541 in secondary. 30.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 25 independent schools in Croydon. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Croydon on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 311 schools in Croydon by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
