Coulsdon CofE Primary School

About Coulsdon CofE Primary School

Coulsdon CofE Primary School was rated Requires Improvement overall in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, a significant drop from the Outstanding grade it had held since its previous inspection in 2011. The inspection report highlights specific weaknesses: the quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision all require improvement. On a more positive note, inspectors judged behaviour and attitudes, as well as personal development, to be Good. The school’s most informative exam metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2, which stood at 57% in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure is notably below the Croydon local authority average of 66%, placing the school 58th out of 77 primary schools in the borough and in the bottom 50% nationally.

Looking more closely at the individual subjects, the picture is mixed. In reading, 80% of pupils met the expected standard and 20% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 105. Writing saw the same 80% expected rate, though only 17% achieved the higher level. Maths was weaker: 70% met the expected standard and 17% reached the higher level, with an average score of 103. The school has no published progress scores for any subject, making it difficult to assess how much value it adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The data suggests that while the school is performing reasonably well in reading and writing, maths outcomes lag behind, and the combined measure drags the overall ranking down. For parents focused on academic results, this is a school that has slipped from its former high standing and is now working to recover.

The school is a Church of England primary with 197 pupils on roll, just below its capacity of 210, and a below-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 9.1%. It is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 80 applications for just 20 places, with 17 of those coming as first preferences. Facilities include a library, art studios, a forest school, playing fields, a sports hall and a chapel. The school offers a wide range of sports and clubs, from choir and chess to netball and cross country. Its SEND provisions cover seven areas, including dyslexia, speech and language needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that will suit families who value its church foundation and broad extracurricular offer, but who are aware that academic outcomes currently sit below the local average and that the school is in a period of improvement following its Ofsted downgrade.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Coulsdon CofE Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents