Riddlesdown Collegiate
Honister Heights, Purley, CR8 1EX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE COLLEGIATE TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Daniel Osborne
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Collegiate Trust
- Constituency
- Croydon South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 2,040
- Pupils on roll
- 2,074
- URN
- 138178
- Local authority
- Croydon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02086685136
About this school
Riddlesdown Collegiate is a secondary academy in Purley. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 2,074 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Riddlesdown Collegiate, 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
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 327 | 322 | 320 |
| Attainment 8 score | 56.3 | 50.6 | 50.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.49 +0.33 to +0.65 | +0.14 -0.02 to +0.30 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 66% | 52.5% | 55% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 81% | 77.3% | 75.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 42% | 32.3% | 50.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.5 |
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 Riddlesdown Collegiate 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 | 56.3 | 37.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.6 | 37 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.7 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 2,060 |
| 2023/24 | 2,060 |
| 2024/25 | 2,067 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Riddlesdown Collegiate compares
Riddlesdown Collegiate ranked 4th of 23 secondary schools in Croydon for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.7 | 7.4% | 18.9% | 2,074 | — |
| Warlingham School | 44.4 | 7.8% | 20.3% | 1,396 | 1.0 miles |
| Thomas More Catholic School | 42.1 | 8.7% | 43.1% | 599 | 1.9 miles |
| Harris Academy Purley | 46.8 | 7.2% | 43.4% | 1,013 | 2.1 miles |
| Oasis Academy Coulsdon | 44.8 | 8% | 27.4% | 927 | 2.1 miles |
| de Stafford School | 42.7 | 10.8% | 26.8% | 811 | 2.3 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
- 21 March 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report10 November 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 18.85%
- English as an additional language
- 8.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.42%
- Persistent absence
- 19.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Warlingham School1.0 miles
Secondary · Warlingham
-
Thomas More Catholic School1.9 miles
Secondary · Purley
-
Harris Academy Purley2.1 miles
Secondary · South Croydon
-
Oasis Academy Coulsdon2.1 miles
Secondary · Croydon
-
de Stafford School2.3 miles
Secondary · Caterham
Other schools in Purley
- The John Fisher School Secondary
- Thomas More Catholic School Secondary
- Purley Nursery School Nursery
- Beaumont Primary School Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School (Purley) Primary
- Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School Primary
- 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 ages does Riddlesdown Collegiate teach?
- Riddlesdown Collegiate teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Purley.
- Who is the principal of Riddlesdown Collegiate?
- The principal of Riddlesdown Collegiate is Mr Daniel Osborne, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Riddlesdown Collegiate been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Riddlesdown Collegiate, 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 Riddlesdown Collegiate?
- Riddlesdown Collegiate has 2,074 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Riddlesdown Collegiate full?
- Riddlesdown Collegiate has capacity for 2,040 pupils and 2,074 on roll (102%), 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 Riddlesdown Collegiate a faith school?
- No. Riddlesdown Collegiate has no designated religious character.
- Is Riddlesdown Collegiate a selective school?
- No. Riddlesdown Collegiate is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Riddlesdown Collegiate part of an academy trust?
- Riddlesdown Collegiate is part of THE COLLEGIATE TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Riddlesdown Collegiate's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 56.3 in 2022/23 and 50.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Riddlesdown Collegiate compare with other schools in Croydon?
- Riddlesdown Collegiate ranked 4th of 23 secondary schools in Croydon for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Riddlesdown Collegiate's absence rate?
- Riddlesdown Collegiate's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Riddlesdown Collegiate's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Riddlesdown Collegiate'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.