Coombe Wood School

Coombe Wood School demonstrates a good overall performance with an ambitious approach to both academic and personal success for its pupils. The school provides a caring environment where students feel well-supported by their teachers, contributing to a positive attitude towards learning. Notably, leaders ensure all students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), receive tailored support. Great emphasis is placed on health-related fitness and varied enrichment opportunities, which pupils greatly appreciate. However, as a newly established school, it faced challenges typical for first inspections, such as refining the sequential teaching of key ideas in some subjects.

Strengths

• High ambition for students' academic and personal success
• Supportive teachers who help students academically
• Wide range of enrichment activities for pupils
• Strong focus on health-related fitness
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Well-stocked library that promotes reading

Areas for Improvement

• Lack of clarity in the order of teaching key ideas in some subjects
• Limited opportunities for younger pupils to meet apprenticeship providers

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 Coombe Wood School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.4% 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, 6.8% of pupils at Coombe Wood School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Coombe Wood School had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.5% 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, 10.5% of pupils at Coombe Wood School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.4% 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 2024–25 Coombe Wood School received £8,464 and spent £8,467 for each of its 1,139 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £940,000 (£825 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of Greenshaw Learning Trust, income was £8,062 and spending £7,907 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Coombe Wood School is part of Greenshaw Learning Trust, which runs 39 schools. The nearest others:

• St Peter's Primary School South Croydon
• Park Hill Junior School Croydon
• Orchard Park High School Croydon
• Bandon Hill Primary School Wallington
• Wallington County Grammar School Wallington
• Wood Field Primary School Carshalton
• Victor Seymour Infants' School Carshalton
• Green Wrythe Primary School Carshalton
• Tweeddale Primary School Carshalton
• Greenshaw High School Sutton

What is Coombe Wood School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Coombe Wood School is Good, from an inspection in March 2023.

When was Coombe Wood School last inspected by Ofsted?

Coombe Wood School was last inspected in March 2023.

How many pupils does Coombe Wood School have?

Coombe Wood School has 1,162 pupils on roll.

What age range does Coombe Wood School cover?

Coombe Wood School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Coombe Wood School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 53.9, and 55% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Coombe Wood School?

Coombe Wood School is at 30 Melville Avenue, South Croydon, CR2 7HY.