Orchard Park High School

About Orchard Park High School

Orchard Park High School sits within Croydon’s secondary landscape as a solidly performing state school, ranking 5th out of 22 schools in the local authority on Progress 8. That places it in the top quarter of Croydon’s secondary schools, ahead of the local average and within striking distance of the borough’s top performers. The three highest-ranked peers in the area are Coloma Convent Girls' School, Harris Academy South Norwood, and St Mary's Catholic High School, all of which post stronger Progress 8 scores. Still, Orchard Park’s position is respectable for a mixed, non-selective 11-16 school with no sixth form. The school is led by headteacher Carly Moran and currently serves 634 pupils against a capacity of 1,000, so there is room to grow. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in January 2024, confirmed the school remains Good and is improving. That continues a pattern of Good ratings stretching back to at least 2011, with leadership and management also judged Good.

Academically, Orchard Park delivers results that comfortably outpace the Croydon average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.37 is well above the local authority average of -0.04, meaning pupils here make significantly more progress than peers in similar schools across the borough. The Attainment 8 score sits at 49.7, and 74% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, with 52.7% reaching the stronger grade 5 threshold. English progress is particularly strong at 0.65, while maths progress is 0.30. The EBacc average point score is 4.31, though only 24.4% of pupils entered the EBacc combination of subjects. The school’s Progress 8 banding is officially rated as ‘Above average’, and nationally it ranks in the top quarter of all schools. These figures suggest a school that adds real value, especially in English, and that supports a high proportion of pupils to secure strong basics.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 536 applications for 148 places, a ratio of 3.62 applicants per place, with 106 first-preference offers made from 130 first-preference applications. That tells you local families are keen. Facilities are generous for a secondary of this size, including a theatre, swimming pool, astro turf, sports hall, tennis courts, and a sixth form centre (though the school itself does not run a sixth form). There is a wide range of clubs and sports on offer, from rowing and martial arts to Model UN and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties, autism, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities, with a resourced provision on site. This is a school that suits families looking for a strong, improving comprehensive with good academic outcomes, plenty of extracurricular breadth, and a clear track record of helping pupils progress above the local norm.

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