Abingdon House School Purley
0.5 miles72 pupils
State-funded · Special school · Croydon
St Nicholas School
Community special school · Ages 4 to 11 · Mixed · 273 pupils
At a glance
- Type
- Community special school (state-funded)
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 273 census January 2026
- Capacity
- 265
- Headteacher
- Miss Katie Goodwin
- Address
- Reedham Drive, Purley, CR8 4DS
- Borough
- Croydon
- Telephone
- 02086604861
- DfE reference (URN)
- 101854
- Website
- st-nicholas.croydon.sch.uk
Source: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools · daily extract as at 2026-10-07 · last checked 9 October 2026
Admissions
Places at special schools are normally arranged through a child's Education, Health and Care Plan, with the local authority naming the school. Speak to your borough's special educational needs team rather than applying on the general admissions form.
Inspection
Ofsted graded inspection, 8 May 2024: overall effectiveness at that inspection was Requires improvement
Ofsted stopped giving state schools a single overall grade in September 2024. This grade dates from the inspection shown; it is not a current rating.
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years provision
- Requires improvement
Ofsted ungraded inspection, 9 February 2023: School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
An ungraded inspection confirms or questions the previous grade; it does not set a new one.
Source: Ofsted, Management information - state-funded schools - latest inspections as at 31 August 2026 · latest inspections as at 2026-08-31 · last checked 9 October 2026
Results
National test and exam measures are not shown for special schools. Most pupils are not entered for them, so the published figures (often 0%) say nothing about the school.
Pupils and context
- Eligible for free school meals
- 43.6% January 2026
- English as an additional language
- 32.1%
- Receiving SEN support
- 1.1%
- With an Education, Health and Care Plan
- 98.9%
- Girls / boys
- 28% / 72%
Source: Department for Education, Compare school and college performance · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026 · school census 2024/25
Attendance and staffing
- Overall absence
- 9.5% 2024/25
- Persistently absent (missed 10% or more)
- 33.6%
- Pupils per teacher
- 7.8 2025/26
Source: Department for Education, Absence rates by school level · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026
Nearby schools
Schools covering the same ages within about a mile, by straight-line distance (not walking or travel time).
Compare with similar schools
Side-by-side comparisons with the nearest schools of the same type. Sourced facts only; no winner is declared.