Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School

Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School is a welcoming, inclusive Church of England school in Croydon where pupils feel safe, known and part of a close-knit community. Inspectors found the school performing securely in most areas, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils behave well, classrooms are calm, bullying is handled swiftly, and pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Leaders have a broad and ambitious curriculum and strong inclusion systems. Achievement and teaching are broadly secure. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, make suitable progress and achieve well overall; disadvantaged pupils perform particularly well in English, creative subjects and humanities. Post-16 students achieve broadly in line with national averages, and vocational students generally achieve very well. However, in a few subjects, higher-attaining pupils do not make enough progress to reach the highest grades, and some teaching activities do not build securely on prior knowledge. The main concern is attendance, which needs attention. Too many pupils are persistently or severely absent, and leaders' actions have not improved attendance rapidly enough or been applied consistently. Leaders should also sharpen monitoring and evaluation, extend personal development, and increase wider enrichment and leadership opportunities for older pupils and sixth-form students. Some vulnerable pupils are not monitored closely enough to ensure support leads to good progress.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, known and part of a close-knit, inclusive community.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.
• Pupils behave well, classrooms are calm and low-level disruption is rare.
• Pupils are respectful, kind and clear that bullying and discrimination are unacceptable.
• Leaders have developed a broad and ambitious curriculum.
• All pupils can study the full range of subjects, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported through tailored approaches.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve particularly well in English, creative subjects and humanities.
• Pupils typically achieve well in GCSE examinations, including those with SEND.
• Post-16 students receive strong advice on apprenticeships and university applications.
• Vocational sixth-form students generally achieve very well.
• The school's careers programme and pastoral care help pupils prepare for next steps.
• The school is a diverse community where pupils from different backgrounds socialise well.
• Inclusive extra-curricular activities, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award and gospel choir, are well accessed by disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance is not good enough; too many pupils miss school regularly and persistently.
• Leaders' actions to improve attendance have not been rapid or effective enough.
• Attendance expectations are not applied consistently, including for some sixth-form students.
• Some higher-attaining pupils do not progress sufficiently to attain the highest grades.
• In a few subjects, teaching activities do not build well enough on what pupils already know.
• Monitoring of some support strategies for vulnerable pupils is not close enough.
• Improvement targets are sometimes not precise or checked closely enough.
• Professional development is not fully embedded across the school.
• Personal development is not extensive enough in supporting pupils' aspirations and next steps.
• Post-16 students have too few opportunities to learn about topics such as budgeting and finance.
• Older pupils and sixth-form students have limited enrichment and leadership opportunities.
• Some post-16 students' wider development offer is not as rich as it could be.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School attended 90.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 7.7% of pupils at Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 18.6% of pupils at Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School received £9,218 and spent £9,231 for each of its 837 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £310,000 (-£371 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Croydon · Croydon local authority: places and applications

What is Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School have?

Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School has 833 pupils on roll.

What age range does Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School cover?

Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.5, and 37% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School?

Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School is at Selborne Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 5JQ.