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Harris City Academy Crystal Palace

Secondary · London · SE19 2JH

Data updated

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Outstanding

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: OutstandingBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: OutstandingSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 1 April 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,191 pupils · 92% of 1,300 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
39% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
32.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
8.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.harriscrystalpalace.org.uk/
URN
135311

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 177 families named it first for 210 Year 7 places, 0.84 first choices per place. We hold 12 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2015 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 1 April 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Outstanding. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 5.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.84 first-choice applications per place

210 places offered · 177 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

163 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
52.3
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
74.8%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
57.1%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.8
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C+
32.4
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school52.3
Median of its 12 closest peers42.4
Croydon average44.5
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Ladybridge High SchoolBolton · 180 miles awayGood41.7
Hertswood AcademyBorehamwood · 19 miles awayGood38.3
Weston Favell AcademyNorthampton · 67 miles awayGood41.8
Campion SchoolLeamington Spa · 86 miles awayGood44.5
Oak Wood SchoolUxbridge · 18 miles awayGood37.6
Bluecoat Aspley AcademyNottingham · 118 miles awayGood48.6
King's Academy ProspectReading · 41 miles awayGood36.8
Q3 Academy TiptonTipton · 114 miles awayGood36.4
Grace Academy CoventryCoventry · 92 miles awayGood43.2
Uxbridge High SchoolUxbridge · 19 miles awayGood43
Wood Green AcademyWednesbury · 114 miles awayGood44.7
Overton Grange SchoolSutton · 7 miles awayRequires improvement46.8

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Black African 31% (Croydon 18%, England 5%) · Black Caribbean 15% (Croydon 9%, England 1%) · White British 8% (Croydon 22%, England 59%) · Any other White background 7% (Croydon 9%, England 7%) · Any other Black background 6% (Croydon 4%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 6% (Croydon 4%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 6% (Croydon 6%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 5% (Croydon 5%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 4% (Croydon 5%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 3% (Croydon 2%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Croydon 4%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 3% (Croydon 5%, England 4%) · Not recorded 2% (Croydon 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Croydon 2%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Croydon 1%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Croydon 0%, England 1%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
5.1%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
14.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

7.23 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Croydon: 12.91 suspensions and 0.14 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
19.7
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

59% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 19% moved to another state school · 22% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

69.7% of teachers took sickness absence, 10.4 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £57,949; 27% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£8,744
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 79% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (6%) · supplies and services 12% (11%) · educational supplies 8% (6%) · bought-in professional services 2% (1%) · catering 2% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £166,000; in-year balance +£325,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
93%
Continuing in education
92%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
61%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
21%
Any sustained destination
88%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
6/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
5/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher57.8%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications8.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work52.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways13.4%18.1%
Residents in very good health55.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier54.3%62.3%
Social housing19.6%17.1%
Privately rented26.1%20.5%
Detached houses3.9%22.9%
Flats70.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms11.3%21.1%
Households with no car or van41.4%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01001138 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£400,000817 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£310,000–£550,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (17)£885,000
Semi-detached (53)£735,000
Terraced (140)£625,000
Flat (607)£352,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
5an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
14an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
3an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools