Purley Oaks Primary School
Bynes Road, South Croydon, CR2 0PR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Griffin
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Croydon South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 660
- Pupils on roll
- 642
- URN
- 101733
- Local authority
- Croydon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02086884268
About this school
Purley Oaks Primary School is a community primary school in South Croydon. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 642 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 87 | 88 | 73 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 68% | 59% | 60% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 8% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 79% | 66% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 74% | 67% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 63% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | 0.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Purley Oaks Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Croydon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 68% | 60.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 62.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 60% | 67.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 625 |
| 2023/24 | 658 |
| 2024/25 | 651 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Purley Oaks Primary School compares
Purley Oaks Primary School ranked 62nd of 77 primary schools in Croydon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 60% | 6.5% | 36.6% | 642 | — |
| Harris Primary Academy Haling Park | 79% | 4.5% | 28.8% | 414 | 0.4 miles |
| St Peter's Primary School | 77% | 4.8% | 14.9% | 411 | 0.4 miles |
| Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School | — | — | — | 369 | 0.5 miles |
| Ridgeway Primary School | 70% | 4.6% | 5.4% | 626 | 0.7 miles |
| Aerodrome Primary Academy | 66% | 6.1% | 34.1% | 447 | 0.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report26 February 2025
- 18 September 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 36.64%
- English as an additional language
- 28.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.46%
- Persistent absence
- 23.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Harris Primary Academy Haling Park0.4 miles
Primary · Croydon
-
St Peter's Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · South Croydon
-
Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · South Croydon
-
Ridgeway Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · South Croydon
-
Aerodrome Primary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Croydon
Other schools in South Croydon
Purley Oaks Primary School ranks 7th of the 8 ranked primary schools in South Croydon.
- Atwood Primary School Primary
- Greenvale Primary School Primary
- Gresham Primary School Primary
- Quest Primary School Primary
- Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School Primary
- Ridgeway Primary School Primary
- Selsdon Primary and Nursery School Primary
- St Peter's Primary School Primary
- Coombe Wood School Secondary
- Harris Academy Purley Secondary
- The Quest Academy Secondary
- Maypole School - Melville Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Purley Oaks Primary School teach?
- Purley Oaks Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in South Croydon.
- Who is the headteacher of Purley Oaks Primary School?
- The headteacher of Purley Oaks Primary School is Mr Richard Griffin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Purley Oaks Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Purley Oaks Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Purley Oaks Primary School?
- Purley Oaks Primary School has 642 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Purley Oaks Primary School full?
- Purley Oaks Primary School has capacity for 660 pupils and 642 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Purley Oaks Primary School a faith school?
- No. Purley Oaks Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Purley Oaks Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Purley Oaks Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Purley Oaks Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 68% in 2022/23 and 60% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Purley Oaks Primary School rank locally?
- Purley Oaks Primary School ranked 62nd of 77 primary schools in Croydon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Purley Oaks Primary School's absence rate?
- Purley Oaks Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Purley Oaks Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Purley Oaks Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.