Good Shepherd Catholic Primary and Nursery School

About Good Shepherd Catholic Primary and Nursery School

Good Shepherd Catholic Primary and Nursery School in Croydon was rated Good overall in its most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2024, a rating it has held consistently since at least 2012. The inspection report singled out personal development as Outstanding, the highest possible grade, while quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision were all judged Good. On the most informative exam metric available, 80% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure sits well above the Croydon local authority average of 66% for primary schools, placing the school 12th out of 77 primary schools in the borough and in the top 25% nationally. For context, the nearest school with an Outstanding Ofsted rating is Harris Primary Academy Benson, 2.4 kilometres away.

Digging deeper into the Key Stage 2 results, the school’s strongest individual subject was maths, where 90% of pupils reached the expected standard and 30% achieved the higher standard. The average maths scaled score was 107, compared with 106 for reading. In reading, 90% of pupils met the expected standard and 17% reached the higher standard, while in writing 80% met the expected standard but no pupils achieved the higher standard. The combined expected standard figure of 80% is a strong performance, though it is worth noting that no pupils reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined. The school’s ranking score of 80 places it 13th in Croydon, just behind top performers Heathfield Academy, St John’s CofE Primary School and Applegarth Academy. Progress scores for reading, writing and maths were not available in the data.

Good Shepherd is a voluntary-aided Roman Catholic primary and nursery school for children aged 3 to 11, with a current roll of 216 pupils against a capacity of 257. It was oversubscribed for the 2025/26 reception intake, receiving 42 applications for 19 places, with 19 first-preference offers made — a ratio of 2.21 applicants per place. The school serves a diverse community, with 29.3% of pupils eligible for free school meals. Facilities include a chapel, art studios, music rooms, an ICT suite and a Forest School programme. Sports on offer include gymnastics, football, cricket, dance and netball, while clubs range from drama and choir to chess, coding and eco club. The school has identified SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties or disabilities. This is a solid, well-regarded local primary that suits families who want strong academic outcomes within a faith-based setting, particularly those who value the personal development focus that Ofsted rated as outstanding.

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