Forest Academy

School overview

Forest Academy is a primary school serving Croydon, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 190 pupils aged 3 to 11 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated Forest Academy 'Good'. 73% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, above the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has fallen by 10.0 percentage points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 36% of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 105 in reading and 103 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 7% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Forest Academy their first choice was offered one of its 12 Reception places. In 2025 the furthest child offered a place lived 2.16 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. Overall pupil absence was 5.1%. There are about 21.5 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 61% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.