SCHOOL PROFILE

Paxton Academy Sports And Science

Primary Free schools URN 140967
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 630 Published school capacity
Capacity used 44.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 2 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

6 December 2022
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Outstanding
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Free schools
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character —
Local authority Croydon
Trust WANDLE LEARNING TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 281 259 full-time · 22 part-time
Female pupils 132 47.0% of pupils
Male pupils 149 53.0% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

43.1%
18.3 pts above England
School 43.1%
Croydon 27.2%
London 26.3%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

54.4%
34.1 pts above England
School 54.4%
Croydon 29.6%
London 39.2%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Croydon 0.4%
London 0.5%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

Caribbean
22.8%
64
Any other White background
14.6%
41
Indian
14.2%
40
African
11.4%
32
Any other Mixed background
8.5%
24
Pakistani
6.4%
18
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 17.4% 49 of 281 pupils
3.4 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 17.4%
Croydon 22.1%
London 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 14.6% 41 pupils
England 14.8% 0.2 pts below
EHC plans 2.9% 8 pupils
England 6.0% 3.2 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 22
Autistic spectrum disorder 8
No specialist assessment yet 5
Specific learning difficulty 5
Moderate learning difficulty 4
Social, emotional & mental health 3

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

87.0% 26.6 pts above England
School 87.0%
Croydon 67.0%
London 67.9%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

90.0%

16.2 pts above England

School 90.0%
Croydon 76.3%
London 78.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

87.0%

16.7 pts above England

School 87.0%
Croydon 75.0%
London 75.1%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

90.0%

18.0 pts above England

School 90.0%
Croydon 76.3%
London 77.7%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

6.75%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.53 pts higher than England
School 6.75%
Croydon 6.77%
London 6.38%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

26.15%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

10.33 pts higher than England
School 26.15%
Croydon 19.05%
London 17.60%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

3.21%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.41 pts higher than England
School 3.21%
Croydon 2.11%
London 1.67%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

44.6% 43.6 pts below England
Paxton Academy Sports And Science
44.6%
Croydon
83.9%
London
85.9%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information