Sunnydown School
Portley House, 152 Whyteleafe Road, Caterham, CR3 5ED
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Boys
- Headteacher
- Mr R Woolley
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- East Surrey
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 81
- Pupils on roll
- 91
- URN
- 125458
- Local authority
- Surrey
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01883342281
About this school
Sunnydown School is a boys' community special school in Caterham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 91 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Sunnydown School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 15 | 16 | 21 |
| Attainment 8 score | 22.0 | 27.1 | 21.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.44 -1.28 to +0.39 | -0.31 -1.05 to +0.43 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 13% | 12.5% | 14.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 27% | 37.5% | 28.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Sunnydown 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 | Surrey average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 22 | 38.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 27.1 | 39.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 21.8 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 87 |
| 2023/24 | 91 |
| 2024/25 | 91 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
- 23 May 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report20 October 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 37.36%
- English as an additional language
- 1.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.42%
- Persistent absence
- 20.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
OneSchool Global Kenley Campus0.4 miles
Independent schools
-
Essendene Lodge School0.5 miles
Independent schools · Caterham
-
Clifton Hill School1.0 miles
Academies · Caterham
-
Caterham School1.5 miles
Independent schools · Caterham
-
Oakhyrst Grange School1.6 miles
Independent schools · Caterham
Other schools in Caterham
- Clifton Hill School Academies
- Audley Primary School Primary
- Hillcroft Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Marden Lodge Primary School and Nursery Primary
- St Francis Catholic Primary School Primary
- St John's CofE Aided Primary School Primary
- St Peter and St Paul Church Primary School Primary
- Woodlea Primary School Primary
- de Stafford School Secondary
- Caterham Prep Independent schools
- Caterham School Independent schools
- Essendene Lodge School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Sunnydown School teach?
- Sunnydown School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a special school in Caterham.
- Who is the headteacher of Sunnydown School?
- The headteacher of Sunnydown School is Mr R Woolley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Sunnydown School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sunnydown 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 many pupils are at Sunnydown School?
- Sunnydown School has 91 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Sunnydown School full?
- Sunnydown School has capacity for 81 pupils and 91 on roll (112%), so it is at or above 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 Sunnydown School a faith school?
- No. Sunnydown School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Sunnydown School have?
- The schools register lists Sunnydown School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Sunnydown School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 22 in 2022/23 and 21.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Sunnydown School's absence rate?
- Sunnydown School's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sunnydown School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sunnydown 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 30 June 2026.