David Livingstone Academy
Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 8HX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- STEP ACADEMY TRUST
- Executive Headteacher
- Ms Phoebe Greer
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- STEP ACADEMY TRUST
- Constituency
- Streatham and Croydon North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 198
- URN
- 137195
- Local authority
- Croydon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02086534240
About this school
David Livingstone Academy is a primary academy in Thornton Heath. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 198 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 July 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 28 | 30 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 73% | 88% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 3% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 83% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 80% | 92% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 80% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.20 | - | - |
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 David Livingstone Academy 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 | 57% | 60.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 62.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 88% | 67.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 200 |
| 2023/24 | 203 |
| 2024/25 | 196 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How David Livingstone Academy compares
David Livingstone Academy ranked 6th of 77 primary schools in Croydon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 96% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 88% | 5.5% | 32.7% | 198 | — |
| St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy | 51% | 4.2% | 19.9% | 216 | 0.1 miles |
| Beulah Junior School | 59% | 6.1% | 51.6% | 215 | 0.4 miles |
| Beulah Infants' School | — | 7% | 48.8% | 197 | 0.4 miles |
| St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School | 71% | 3.7% | 19.4% | 447 | 0.4 miles |
| Downsview Primary and Nursery School | 81% | 5.3% | 19% | 620 | 0.4 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)
- 32.65%
- English as an additional language
- 44.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.53%
- Persistent absence
- 14.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Thornton Heath
-
Beulah Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Thornton Heath
-
Beulah Infants' School0.4 miles
Primary · London
-
St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · Thornton Heath
-
Downsview Primary and Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · London
Other schools in Thornton Heath
David Livingstone Academy ranks 2nd of the 11 ranked primary schools in Thornton Heath.
- Beulah Junior School Primary
- Ecclesbourne Primary School Primary
- Gonville Academy Primary
- Kensington Avenue Primary School Primary
- Paxton Academy Sports And Science Primary
- St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy Primary
- St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Whitehorse Manor Infant School Primary
- Whitehorse Manor Junior School Primary
- Winterbourne Boys' Academy Primary
- Winterbourne Junior Girls' School Primary
- Winterbourne Nursery and Infants' School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does David Livingstone Academy teach?
- David Livingstone Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Thornton Heath.
- Who is the executive headteacher of David Livingstone Academy?
- The executive headteacher of David Livingstone Academy is Ms Phoebe Greer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was David Livingstone Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected David Livingstone Academy, 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 David Livingstone Academy?
- David Livingstone Academy has 198 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is David Livingstone Academy full?
- David Livingstone Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 198 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 David Livingstone Academy a faith school?
- No. David Livingstone Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is David Livingstone Academy a selective school?
- No. David Livingstone Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does David Livingstone Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records David Livingstone Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs David Livingstone Academy?
- David Livingstone Academy is part of STEP ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have David Livingstone Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 57% in 2022/23 and 88% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does David Livingstone Academy rank locally?
- David Livingstone Academy ranked 6th of 77 primary schools in Croydon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 96% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is David Livingstone Academy's absence rate?
- David Livingstone Academy's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are David Livingstone Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, David Livingstone Academy'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.