Founded in 1874, the school’s original site was in Wellesley Road Croydon but is now situated in the leafy suburb of Selsdon.
Croydon High School is part of the GDST (Girls’ Day School Trust). The GDST is the leading network of independent girls’ schools in the UK. As a charity that owns and runs 23 schools and two academies, it reinvests all its income in its schools. For further information about the Trust, see p. xxiii or visit www.gdst.net. For over 140 years, Croydon High School has provided a superb all-round education for girls around the Croydon area and further afield. The school combines tradition with a forward-looking, aspirational and supportive atmosphere where every girl is encouraged and supported to aspire without limits to achieve her personal best. The school welcomes girls from a wide range of backgrounds; excellent pastoral care ensures that each girl is known as an individual.
Croydon High offers girls a wide range of co-curricular opportunities ensuring that each girl can find something she enjoys. The school regularly achieves local, regional and national success in Sport; its Arts are also outstanding, having recently been awarded Artsmark GOLD status, with termly west-end quality productions involving students across all year groups, a vibrant Music department offering opportunities to musicians at varying ability levels to develop their talents in all musical genres and young artists are motivated and inspired to develop their creative talents in different media.
The school aims to develop confident young women with wide-ranging interests and abilities who have also achieved excellent academic results. Emphasis is placed on ensuring that girls are happy and fulfilled in whatever career path they choose for the future and ready to excel in life beyond school.
Number of Pupils. Senior School (aged 11–18): 500 girls; Junior School (aged 3–11): 279 girls (excluding Nursery).
Facilities. The purpose-built school has outstanding facilities; including specialist music rooms with a high-spec Mac Suite and recording studio, podcast room, drama studio, language laboratory, computer suites, 10 science laboratories, 3D design technology room and a fully equipped sports block incorporating sports hall, gym, indoor swimming pool, fitness room and dance studio. The school is surrounded by spacious playing fields with netball/tennis courts, athletics track and an all-weather hockey and football pitch.
The Junior School, which has its own Nursery, is in an adjacent building on the same site, sharing many of the excellent facilities. Refurbishment, completed in December 2020, greatly enhances the Main Hall and provides additional space for the school’s subject specialist teaching in Music, Drama, MFL and Computer Science, which is a specialty. It also has a new Wellbeing Hub specifically for Junior girls where the Head of Pastoral and Head of SEN can meet with girls in a calm, quiet space outside of the classroom.
The Sixth Form have their own suite of rooms, including a common room and quiet study area, adjacent to the school library and excellent Further Education, Mentoring and Careers resources are available on site. This is a real strength of the school.
Curriculum. Most girls take 9–10 GCSE subjects with the aim of providing a broad and balanced core curriculum which keeps career choices open. Over 23 subjects are offered at A Level including Politics, Psychology, Economics, Latin and Business. Almost all girls proceed to University, and, each year, the majority of girls go to Russell Group Universities and a large proportion to read medicine or STEM subjects, with increasing success in Computer Science, underpinned by a solid number studying The Arts and Languages.
Admission. A whole school Open Day is held annually in October and a Sixth Form Open Evening also in October. An additional Open Event for the Senior School is held in June. Tours and private visits are welcome and can be arranged through the Junior and Senior Admissions Registrars.
The school admits girls to the Junior School on the basis of either individual assessment (younger girls) or written tests (girls of 7+ and above). Selection procedures are held early in January for Juniors and assessments for Infants are held during the Autumn and Spring Terms for entry in the following September.
For entrance to the Senior School in Year 7, the school holds bespoke Entrance Tests in early January for entry the following September. References are taken up for all successful applicants.
Entrance Tests are held in February for Year 9 entry in September.
For the Sixth Form, the school interviews applicants and requests reports from the present school. A Sixth Form Open Evening is held in October and Scholarship and Bursary applicants sit an examination in late November.
Further details on the admissions process are available on the website or via the Registrar, admissions@cry.gdst.net.
Fees per term (2023-2024). Senior School: Years 7–9 £6,369, Years 10–13 £6,605; Junior School: Nursery (full time) £3,839, Reception £4,584, Years 1–2 £4,708, Years 3–4 £5,140, Years 5–6 £5,226.
Scholarships and Bursaries. Following the ending of the Government Assisted Places Scheme, the GDST has made available to the school a number of scholarships and bursaries.
Academic scholarships are available for entry at 11+ or to the Sixth Form. Music, art & design, drama and sports scholarships are also available at 11+ and 16+.
For entrance at Year 9, the school offers a small number of Academic Plus scholarships to applicants joining from other schools, who have chosen to be assessed academically and in one of the following subjects; art, music, drama or sport.
Bursaries are means tested and are intended to ensure that the school remains accessible to bright girls who could not otherwise benefit from the education we offer. These are available to Senior School girls only applying to Year 7 or Sixth Form.
The school has a vibrant and active Alumnae Network – The Ivy Link – which supports the school in numerous ways, including offering careers and mentoring connections.
Charitable status. Croydon High School is part of The Girls’ Day School Trust, which is a Registered Charity, number 306983.