SCHOOL PROFILE

Shirley High School Performing Arts College

Secondary Academy converter URN 137772
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,105 Published school capacity
Capacity used 72.4% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 19 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

30 November 2022
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character —
Local authority Croydon
Trust SHIRLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 800 800 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 438 54.8% of pupils
Male pupils 362 45.3% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

50.5%
25.7 pts above England
School 50.5%
Croydon 27.2%
London 26.3%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

28.6%
8.3 pts above England
School 28.6%
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.

White British
21.3%
170
Caribbean
17.9%
143
African
15.5%
124
Any other White background
8.4%
67
Any other Mixed background
6.4%
51
White and Black Caribbean
5.6%
45
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 26.5% 212 of 800 pupils
5.7 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 26.5%
Croydon 22.1%
London 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 23.4% 187 pupils
England 14.8% 8.6 pts above
EHC plans 3.1% 25 pupils
England 6.0% 2.9 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 82
Specific learning difficulty 43
Speech, language & communication 29
Autistic spectrum disorder 18
No specialist assessment yet 18
Moderate learning difficulty 10

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 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

37.7 1.5 pts below England
School 37.7
Croydon 36.3
London 42.1
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 23.3% England 36.0% 12.7 pts below England
English & maths grade 4+ 49.2% England 51.4% 2.2 pts below England
EBacc entry 31.7% England 30.6% 1.1 pts above England
EBacc average point score 3.20 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: -0.51 · 2023/24

Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority 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

11.02%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

4.81 pts higher than England
School 11.02%
Croydon 6.77%
London 6.38%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

35.17%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

19.35 pts higher than England
School 35.17%
Croydon 19.05%
London 17.60%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

4.52%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

2.72 pts higher than England
School 4.52%
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 secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

72.4% 19.9 pts below England
Shirley High School Performing Arts College
72.4%
Croydon
79.6%
London
91.3%
England
92.3%
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