Harris Academy Purley
Kendra Hall Road, South Croydon, CR2 6DT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HARRIS FEDERATION
- Principal
- Mr Tim Allman
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Harris Federation
- Constituency
- Croydon South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,150
- Pupils on roll
- 1,013
- URN
- 135955
- Local authority
- Croydon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02086811141
About this school
Harris Academy Purley is a secondary academy in South Croydon. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,013 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Harris Academy Purley, 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 189 | 174 | 184 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.9 | 47.0 | 46.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.04 -0.25 to +0.16 | +0.23 +0.02 to +0.45 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 44% | 52.9% | 50.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 70.1% | 65.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 84% | 51.1% | 50% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
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 Harris Academy Purley 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 | 43.9 | 37.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47 | 37 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.8 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,097 |
| 2023/24 | 1,033 |
| 2024/25 | 1,022 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Harris Academy Purley compares
Harris Academy Purley ranked 6th of 23 secondary schools in Croydon for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.8 | 7.2% | 43.4% | 1,013 | — |
| Thomas More Catholic School | 42.1 | 8.7% | 43.1% | 599 | 0.8 miles |
| Wilson's School | 86.9 | 2.8% | 5.8% | 1,327 | 0.9 miles |
| The John Fisher School | 55.6 | 6.4% | 15.9% | 1,116 | 1.2 miles |
| Coombe Wood School | 52.6 | 6.4% | 31.6% | 1,162 | 1.6 miles |
| Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School | 45.3 | 9.9% | 37.3% | 833 | 1.6 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)
- 43.42%
- English as an additional language
- 40.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.19%
- Persistent absence
- 19.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Thomas More Catholic School0.8 miles
Secondary · Purley
-
Wilson's School0.9 miles
Secondary · Wallington
-
The John Fisher School1.2 miles
Secondary · Purley
-
Coombe Wood School1.6 miles
Secondary · South Croydon
-
Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Croydon
Other schools in South Croydon
- Coombe Wood School Secondary
- The Quest Academy Secondary
- Atwood Primary School Primary
- Greenvale Primary School Primary
- Gresham Primary School Primary
- Purley Oaks 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
- Maypole School - Melville Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Harris Academy Purley teach?
- Harris Academy Purley teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in South Croydon.
- Who is the principal of Harris Academy Purley?
- The principal of Harris Academy Purley is Mr Tim Allman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Harris Academy Purley been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harris Academy Purley, 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 Harris Academy Purley?
- Harris Academy Purley has 1,013 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Harris Academy Purley full?
- Harris Academy Purley has capacity for 1,150 pupils and 1,013 on roll (88%), 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 Harris Academy Purley a faith school?
- No. Harris Academy Purley has no designated religious character.
- Is Harris Academy Purley a selective school?
- No. Harris Academy Purley is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Harris Academy Purley part of an academy trust?
- Harris Academy Purley is part of HARRIS FEDERATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Harris Academy Purley's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.9 in 2022/23 and 46.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Harris Academy Purley compare with other schools in Croydon?
- Harris Academy Purley ranked 6th of 23 secondary schools in Croydon for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Harris Academy Purley's absence rate?
- Harris Academy Purley's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harris Academy Purley's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harris Academy Purley'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 1 July 2026.