These are the five best state primary schools in the Croydon area. They are among the top 15% of schools in the country, as determined by the Schoolsmith Score. Three rank in the top 5% of primary schools in England. They are;
- Fairchildes Primary School in New Addington,
- Gresham Primary School in Sanderstead,
- Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School in South Croydon,
- Ridgeway Primary School and Nursery in South Croydon, and
- St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary School in South Norwood.
The differences between primary schools are less obvious than prep schools, and deliberately so. State education is designed such that all children should receive the same curriculum irrespective of where they are taught, and who is teaching them. So, to differentiate, parents have traditionally looked to SATS results and Ofsted gradings. Beyond that, there is also a commonly held belief that Church schools are ‘better’ schools. That’s pretty much it. Hopefully, this comparison might shed a little more light.
There is also a partner review for prep schools in the same area; Croydon, South Croydon, Sanderstead, Addington and Selsdon. And that can be found here.
Age range, gender mix, and faith
The schools educate children from age 4-5 (Reception) to age 11 (Year 6). In addition, both Ridgeway Primary and Fairchildes Primary have a nursery class from age 3. Though please be aware that attendance at the nursery is no guarantee of a place in Reception.
Apart from St Thomas Becket, all the schools provide access to out of hours care from 7.30/8.00am to 6.00pm. At Fairchildes and Ridgeway that care is provided on the school premises by external contractors. At Gresham Primary and Regina Coeli, school staff provide the care.
As far as gender mix goes, they are all co-educational, as indeed are almost all state primary schools.
Two of the five are church schools, both of them Catholic; Regina Coeli Catholic Primary, and St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary. They are, or were, Voluntary Aided schools, which means that faith may have a role to play in the admissions policy. Though the other three are nominally secular schools, they teach a mandatory RE curriculum.
Admissions
In terms of admissions policy, please refer to the individual schools’ websites. All operate a catchment system.
But the faithful have some priority at the Catholic schools if the schools are oversubscribed for places in Reception.
As it happens, all five schools are regularly oversubscribed on first preference choices. Additionally, Gresham Primary is one of the five most popular schools for applications in the whole Borough of Croydon.
Inspections
Ofsted inspectors consider Fairchildes Primary to be Outstanding, while the other four are Good, according to their most recent inspections.
Buildings and grounds
Mostly, these Croydon primary schools occupy purpose-built facilities, built in the 1950s/60s in residential areas. Regina Coeli Catholic Primary occupies a large Victorian house with 1990s additions. Gresham Primary is based around a Victorian village school building. They each have outdoor play areas and playgrounds. But not extensive grounds.
Class sizes and classes per year
These Croydon primary schools vary in size. Size can be important as it influences the look and feel of a school. And larger schools tend to have more facilities, though not necessarily in proportion to the number of pupils.
There is;
- 1 one-form entry school; Gresham Primary.
- 2 two-form entry; Regina Coeli Catholic Primary and St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary.
- 1 two-and-a-half form entry; Fairchildes Primary.
- 1 three-form entry; Ridgeway Primary.
Class sizes at each school are typically 30 pupils.
Facilities at Croydon state primary schools
They all have some specialist facilities to support their curricula. For sport that includes playgrounds, and a school hall. All except Regina Coeli have a grass playing field, Ridgeway Primary has a new MUGA.
Beyond the multi-purpose hall, arts facilities are limited. Ridgeway Primary, however, has two halls, a music room, and an outdoor amphitheatre. As for academic facilities there are libraries, environmental areas, and IT facilities. Ridgeway Primary also has a cookery room.
Overall, Ridgeway Primary has the widest range of specialist facilities, though it is the largest school. There isn’t much to choose between the others. Perhaps Gresham Primary has the second widest range.
Academic curricula
All these schools teach a broad curriculum in line with the National Curriculum. And they all use a topic approach, particularly with the humanities subjects, to develop pupils’ enquiry skills. Topics can be subject specific or linking different subjects. At Fairchildes Primary and Regina Coeli topics tend to be within discrete subjects. Whereas subjects at Gresham Primary, St Thomas Becket, and Ridgeway Primary are more closely linked by a cross-curricular topic. Gresham Primary, for example, uses the International Primary Curriculum for science and humanities.
Two schools are academies; Fairchildes Primary, and St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary. As such they may have more flexibility in the school day and curriculum. Also, Fairchildes Primary is a member of a multi-academy trust so may have access to more specialist teaching resources.
All of the schools include some element of outdoor learning in their curricula, particularly for their youngest pupils.
The educational experience will be different at the two Catholic schools compared to the non-religious schools. Curricula at Catholic schools emphasise Catholic social morality. Particularly in lessons such as PSHE and Citizenship, and in assemblies. RE, naturally, plays a prominent role in the curriculum as a core subject along with English and maths. And there is usually daily worship.
All but one of the Croydon primary schools teach French from Year 3. Gresham Primary teaches Spanish.
Each of the schools offers educational trips. Gresham Primary and Ridgeway Primary also offer an adventure residential in Year 6. Fairchildes Primary has a residential for both Years 5 and 6.
Sport at Croydon state primary schools
Each school teaches between eight and ten different sports.
Pupils at these five Croydon state primary schools benefit from a larger number of after-school activities than at most primary schools. There are clubs for academic enrichment and hobbies, arts, as well as sport.
The size of the primary school, in terms of number of pupils, has a bearing on the strength of their sports teams. The idea being that larger schools have a larger pool to select from. All of these schools provide and encourage participation in a wide range of sports. But, on average, we should expect Ridgeway Primary and Fairchildes Primary to have the strongest teams.
However, no Croydon primary school has a sustained track record for sporting achievement in national competitions.
The arts at Croydon state primary schools
The schools all promote engagement with the arts on an individual and ensemble basis. For example, there is art, a choir, instrument learning, and dramatic performances at each school. Arts provision is probably best at Ridgeway Primary, in and out of the classroom.
Academic results
Though their academic results are, on average, upper quartile, these Croydon primaries only occasionally break into the top 10% of all English schools. The exception is Regina Coeli Catholic Primary. On a four-year average, it ranks in the top 7% of UK schools for attainment in Year 6 SATS. Which means it is consistently good, not just scoring well one year for a particularly able year group.
As for pupil progress, again measured on four-year average from SATS results, Regina Coeli performs even better. It ranks in the top 4% nationally.
Choosing the best state primary school in Croydon
The freedom to choose a state school is somewhat limited as applicants need to live within the school’s catchment area. But there may be a choice of more than one. Most Education Authorities offer the opportunity to select preferred schools, albeit from a limited list.
These schools are all among the top 15% best primary schools in the country. As I hope this note has shown, any one of them should be a preference. Three of these Croydon primary schools rank significantly higher. Regina Coeli Catholic Primary, Fairchildes Primary, and Ridgeway Primary all rank in the top 5% of primary schools.
| Rank | Best Croydon primary schools | Schoolsmith Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1= | Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School | 71 |
| 1= | Ridgeway Primary School and Nursery | 71 |
| 3 | Fairchildes Primary School | 70 |
| 4 | Gresham Primary School | 68 |
| 5 | St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary School | 67 |
See also the best state primary schools in Balham and Streatham, Wimbledon, Sutton, Purley, Forest Hill and Sydenham, Bromley, West Wickham, and Reigate and Redhill
Why are these the best state primary schools in Croydon?
Schools that feature in these notes are those with the highest Schoolsmith Scores, not just in Croydon, but nationwide. The Schoolsmith Score is an objective score that accounts for 50 different aspects of schooling, grouped into 5 broad categories. You can read more about them from the links below, and the Schoolsmith Score here.
- their achievements; academic, sporting and artistic,
- the breadth of the education they offer,
- the quality of teaching,
- their facilities,
- their look and feel.
Need more help?
By now you might be wondering what you should be thinking about when choosing a school? It happens to everyone. Why not try my 7 one minute quizzes for those starting their school search? Wood, trees, and all that…