Red Gates School
Red Gates School is a council special school in South Croydon for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 160 pupils and every place is taken. About 53 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.
Farnborough Avenue, South Croydon, CR2 8HD020 8651 6540redgates.croydon.sch.ukMrs Melissa Hendry interim headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 24 September 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1 March 2023 | Ungraded | School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next |
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
22 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Croydon | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 22 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 18 | 13 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 70% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 10% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -4.7 | +1.3 | -1.4 | +0.7 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -4.9 | +0.9 | -0.9 | +0.9 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Croydon council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Croydon with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (105), Severe learning difficulty (54), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 160 | 160 | 159 | 165 | 161 | 167 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 53% | 49% | 49% | 49% | 48% | 48% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 38% | 44% | 47% | 45% | 50% | 50% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 11% | 15% | 11% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 89% | 85% | 89% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 9.2% | 10.1% | 11.1% | 11.8% | 8.6% | 10.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.8% | 10.0% | 9.9% | 9.5% | 7.4% | 8.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.5% | 0.1% | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1.2% | 1.9% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 28.3% | 35.6% | 45.3% | 47.1% | 20.6% | 28.2% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quest Primary School | Academy | 100 m | 199 | Good 2023 | 22 | Compare |
| The Quest Academy | Academy | 360 m | 853 | Requires improvement 2024 | 7 | Compare |
| Forestdale Primary School | Council | 530 m | 405 | Good 2022 | 74 | Compare |
| Selsdon Primary and Nursery School | Foundation | 960 m | 325 | No overall grade 2025 | 22 | Compare |
| Courtwood Primary School | Academy | 0.6 miles | 215 | Good 2022 | 35 | Compare |
| Applegarth Academy | Academy | 0.8 miles | 396 | Good 2021 | 93 | Compare |
| Greenvale Primary School | Council | 1.0 miles | 216 | Good 2023 | 87 | Compare |
| Royal Russell School | Independent (grammar) | 1.0 miles | 1,296 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Red Gates School a good school?
Red Gates School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in September 2024.
What is Red Gates School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Red Gates School not judged at its last full inspection on 24 September 2024.
How good are Red Gates School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.
How many pupils does Red Gates School have?
160 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 160 places, so it is 100% full.
What is attendance like at Red Gates School?
Pupils were in school 90.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 28% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Red Gates School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Farnborough Avenue, South Croydon, CR2 8HD
- Telephone
- 020 8651 6540
- Website
- redgates.croydon.sch.uk
- Interim Headteacher
- Mrs Melissa Hendry
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 4-11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Croydon
- Ward
- Selsdon & Addington Village
- Constituency
- Croydon East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 January 1900
- URN
- 101855 · LAESTAB 3067006 · UKPRN 10077041
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.