Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School
Russell Hill Road, Purley, CR8 2XP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Dermot Mooney
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Constituency
- Croydon South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 226
- Pupils on roll
- 212
- URN
- 101797
- Local authority
- Croydon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02086600115
About this school
Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Purley. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 212 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 33 | 29 | 33 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 76% | 83% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 21% | 14% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 93% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 85% | 90% | 91% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 86% | 91% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 110.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 111.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +4.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +5.10 | - | - |
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 Margaret Roper Catholic 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 | 76% | 60.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 83% | 62.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 67.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 201 |
| 2023/24 | 201 |
| 2024/25 | 214 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School compares
Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School ranked 42nd of 77 primary schools in Croydon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 4.7% | 15.9% | 212 | — |
| Christ Church CofE Primary School (Purley) | 62% | 5.2% | 25.1% | 397 | 0.4 miles |
| Wallington Primary Academy | 31% | 8.7% | 47% | 155 | 0.7 miles |
| Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School | — | — | — | 369 | 0.9 miles |
| St Elphege's RC Junior School | — | — | — | 382 | 0.9 miles |
| St Elphege's RC Infants' School | — | — | — | 322 | 0.9 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.89%
- English as an additional language
- 25.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.66%
- Persistent absence
- 10.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Christ Church CofE Primary School (Purley)0.4 miles
Primary · Purley
-
Wallington Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Wallington
-
Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · South Croydon
-
St Elphege's RC Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Wallington
-
St Elphege's RC Infants' School0.9 miles
Primary · Wallington
Other schools in Purley
- Beaumont Primary School Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School (Purley) Primary
- Purley Nursery School Nursery
- Riddlesdown Collegiate Secondary
- The John Fisher School Secondary
- Thomas More Catholic School Secondary
- Abingdon House School Purley Special schools
- St Nicholas School Special schools
- Laleham Lea School Independent schools
- St David's School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School teach?
- Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Purley.
- Who is the headteacher of Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School is Mr Dermot Mooney, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Margaret Roper Catholic 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 Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School?
- Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School has 212 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School full?
- Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School has capacity for 226 pupils and 212 on roll (94%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Does Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 76% in 2022/23 and 70% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School ranked 42nd of 77 primary schools in Croydon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Margaret Roper Catholic 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.