Harris Invictus Academy Croydon
0.3 miles963 pupils (census January 2026) · GCSE Attainment 8 45 (2024/25)
Applications: closes in 17 days (31 Oct 2026)
State-funded · Secondary · Croydon
St Mary's Catholic High School
Voluntary aided school · Ages 11 to 19 · Mixed · 565 pupils (census January 2026)
Year 7 (11+) application closes in 17 days Application deadline for Year 7 (11+) 31 October 2026
At a glance
- Type
- Voluntary aided school (state-funded)
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character (DfE register)
- Roman Catholic
- Pupils
- 565 census January 2026
- Capacity (DfE register)
- 1,115 register as checked October 2026
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Headteacher
- Mr Conal Patrick Shields
- Address
- Woburn Road, Croydon, CR9 2EE
- Borough
- Croydon
- Telephone
- 02086863837
- DfE reference (URN)
- 101814
- Website
- stmaryscroydon.co.uk
Source: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools · daily extract as at 7 October 2026 · last checked 9 October 2026
Where leavers went
Official destination measures after GCSEs (key stage 4)
| Staying in education or employment for at least 2 terms after key stage 4 | 90% |
|---|---|
| In a sustained education destination | 89% |
| Going to a school sixth form | 18% |
| Going to a sixth-form college | 24% |
| Going to a further education college or other FE provider | 48% |
| In a sustained apprenticeship | 0% |
| In sustained employment | 1% |
| Whose destination was not sustained | 7% |
Source: Department for Education, Compare school and college performance · 2022/23 cohort · last checked 9 October 2026 · 101 leavers, cohort that left in 2022/23
These are destinations schools have published for past leavers. They describe what happened, not what will happen for any one child. How to read this.
Key dates for 2027 entry
Year 7 (11+)
- Application deadlineSaturday 31 October 2026Closes in 17 days
National closing date for Year 7 applications: Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply through your home borough's coordinated scheme (eAdmissions), not directly to the school.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 9 Oct 2026
- National offer dayMonday 1 March 2027Upcoming
Secondary National Offer Day: Monday 1 March 2027. Offers are released by your home borough.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 9 Oct 2026
- Accept your offerDate not stated
Accept the offer by the deadline given in your offer letter; your home borough sets the date.
Source: GOV.UK · checked 9 Oct 2026
Get a reminder before St Mary's Catholic High School's deadlines
One email 14, 7 and 1 day before each dated deadline we hold. No account needed.
A status ("Closes in 12 days") is shown only for a closing date we have checked, worked out from today's date, 14 October 2026. Other dates are printed as the school published them, with its own wording beside them. Dates given only as "early January" are shown as approximate and never counted down. Always confirm with the school or council.
Open days and tours
- Open morning · 09:15Tuesday 20 October 2026, 09:15 to 10:15
Dates as published on the school's own page, read 10 Oct 2026. Schools add and change dates at short notice and most ask you to book: confirm with the school. All open days in London
Admissions
You apply through the council where you live, not to the school, naming up to six schools in order on one form. Every applicant on time hears on the same national offer day. Schools with a religious character often ask for a supplementary information form as well, returned to the school by the same deadline.
45 first-preference applications and 229 applications naming it at any preference; 108 places offered on national offer day (September 2026 entry, DfE)
| Entry | Places offered on offer day | First preferences | All preferences |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 108 | 45 | 229 |
| September 2025 | 89 | 61 | 230 |
| September 2024 | 104 | 56 | 266 |
| September 2023 | 123 | 54 | 242 |
These are counts of applications and offers on national offer day. They are not a chance of getting in: places are allocated by the school's published admissions criteria, such as siblings, distance or faith. A council's own figures (admission number, later offers) can differ by a few places.
Source: Department for Education, Secondary and primary school applications and offers · entry years up to 2026/27 · last checked 9 October 2026
Croydon: Year 7 offers, September 2026 entry
Across the borough, 71.2% of applicants were offered their first preference and 95.3% were offered one of their preferences (4,184 applications). These are borough-wide figures, not a forecast for any school or child.
Source: Department for Education, Secondary and primary schools applications and offers 2026 · entry years 2014/15 to 2026/27 (release published 18 June 2026) · last checked 9 October 2026
How places were offered last year
Year 7, offers made in March 2026: the last place was offered under the criterion printed as distance/non faith. No distance was published.
Source: Croydon council, how places were offered, p.1 · last checked 13 October 2026
Distances change every year with who applies and where they live, and they say nothing about whether a particular address would be offered a place. Places are given by the school's published admission criteria (for example looked-after children, siblings, faith or distance), so read those and the council's guidance before you apply.
Inspection
Ofsted report card, inspected 13 January 2026
Ofsted no longer gives a single overall grade. The report card grades each area on a five-point scale.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
Safeguarding standards: Met.
Ofsted ungraded inspection, 4 November 2021: School remains Good
An ungraded inspection confirms or questions the previous grade; it does not set a new one.
Last overall grade: Good, given on 1 February 2017
Historic. This is the last time Ofsted gave the school a single overall grade. Overall grades were abolished for state schools in September 2024.
Source: Ofsted, Management information - state-funded schools - latest inspections as at 31 August 2026 · latest inspections as at 31 August 2026 · last checked 9 October 2026
What parents told Ofsted
Based on 10 parents' responses to Ofsted Parent View from 10 November 2025 to 6 April 2026. Ofsted estimates that is about 2 responses for every 100 pupils. Each bar shows the share who agreed (strongly agree and agree together), said yes or gave a positive overall view, out of the parents who answered.
“My child is happy at this school”
70% agree · 20% disagree · 10 responses
“My child feels safe at this school”
70% agree · 20% disagree · 10 responses
“The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved”
70% agree · 10% disagree · 10 responses
“The school communicates well with me about the things I need to know”
80% agree · 20% disagree · 10 responses
“When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly”
70% agree · 10% disagree · 10% had not raised any concerns · 10 responses
“When the school makes decisions it has the child's best interests at heart”
60% agree · 0% disagree · 10 responses
“The school gives my child the right support to enable them to learn well”
70% agree · 20% disagree · 10 responses
“Would you recommend this school to another parent?”
70% said yes · 30% said no · 10 responses
“Your overall view of the school”
62% positive · 38% negative · 10 responses
Parent View is Ofsted's online survey. Any parent can answer it at any time, so the parents who respond may not be typical; read alongside the inspection. Ofsted publishes a school only when at least 10 parents answered in the period, and we leave out any question fewer than 10 parents answered. Parents' written comments are not included.
Source: Ofsted, Parent View management information (school-level data, submissions 10 November 2025 to 6 April 2026, published 16 June 2026; spreadsheet), Open Government Licence.
Results
GCSE (key stage 4), 2024/25
- Attainment 8 score2022/23: 38.6 · 2023/24: 39.836.5This school44.5Croydon46.1England, state-funded
- % achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs2022/23: 30% · 2023/24: 30%23%This school42%Croydon45%England, state-funded
- % achieving grade 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs2022/23: 45% · 2023/24: 52%37%This school62%Croydon65%England, state-funded
- % entering the English Baccalaureate2022/23: 19% · 2023/24: 16%25%This school52%Croydon40%England, state-funded
- EBacc average point score2022/23: 3.27 · 2023/24: 3.373.09This school3.99Croydon4.09England, state-funded
Source: Department for Education, Compare school and college performance · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026 · academic year 2024/25 · 105 pupils in the cohort
Pupils and context
- Eligible for free school meals
- 34.3% January 2026
- English as an additional language
- 61.3%
- Pupils with special educational needs getting extra help in school (SEN support, without an Education, Health and Care plan)
- 11% (January 2025)
- Pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP: a legal plan for children with higher needs)
- 2.5% (January 2025)
- Girls / boys
- 54% / 46%
What do these mean?
Special educational needs (SEN) support is help a school gives from its own resources to a child who needs more help with learning than most children of the same age: for example extra teaching, work in a small group, or a teaching assistant. There is no legal plan.
An Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) is a legal document written by the council for a child who needs more support than a school can usually give from its own resources. It says what help the child must get, and the council must make sure it is provided.
A pupil is counted in one group or the other, not both. Both figures are a share of all pupils at the school, counted by the Department for Education in the January school census (January 2025, academic year 2024/25).
To compare schools, look at the same two figures for other schools. Each is a share of that school's own pupils, so schools of different sizes can be set side by side. A higher figure is not better or worse: it says how many pupils get this help, not how good the help is.
Source: Department for Education, Compare school and college performance · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026 · school census January 2025
Attendance and staffing
- Overall absence
- 5.8% 2024/25
- Persistently absent (missed 10% or more)
- 17.1%
- Pupils per teacher
- 18.2 2025/26
Source: Department for Education, Absence rates by school level · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026
School capacity survey, May 2025
- Places (capacity survey)
- 1,115
- Pupils on roll (capacity survey)
- 569
Counted on 1 May for the capacity survey, so these can differ from the register's capacity and the January census under At a glance.
Source: Department for Education, Capacity - school / Sixth form capacity - school · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026 · position at 1 May, 2024/25
Nearby schools
Schools covering the same ages within about a mile, by straight-line distance (not walking or travel time).
Al-Khair School
0.4 miles96 pupils (census January 2025)
Harris Federation Post 16
0.4 milesA-level average grade C+ (2024/25)
Ark Blake Academy
0.6 miles759 pupils (census January 2026) · GCSE Attainment 8 45.6 (2024/25)
Applications: closes in 17 days (31 Oct 2026)
1,445 pupils (census January 2026) · GCSE Attainment 8 50.1 (2024/25)
Applications: closes in 32 days (15 Nov 2026)
Aya College (Educational Provision)
0.9 milesCompare with similar schools
Side-by-side comparisons with the nearest schools of the same type. Sourced facts only; no winner is declared.
- St Mary's Catholic High School and Harris Invictus Academy Croydon0.3 miles apart
- St Mary's Catholic High School and Ark Blake Academy0.6 miles apart
- St Mary's Catholic High School and BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology0.7 miles apart
- St Mary's Catholic High School and Archbishop Tenison's Church of England High School, Croydon1 mile apart