Riddlesdown High School
Overview
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, located in the Riddlesdown
Riddlesdown
Riddlesdown is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, one mile east from the centre of Purley. The name applies both to an area of chalk downland, which is maintained by the City of London Corporation as common land, and to the nearby residential district....
area of the London Borough of Croydon
London Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Riddlesdown is a coeducational school, of 1902 students (311 of those being post-16 students). The school takes its pupils mainly from the Sanderstead
Sanderstead
Sanderstead is a village in London Borough of Croydon, located on high ground at the edge of the built-up area of Greater London. From 1915 to 1965 it formed a parish in the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District of Surrey. Having been a farming community in previous centuries, Sanderstead is now...
, Selsdon
Selsdon
Selsdon is an area located in the southern suburbs of the London Borough of Croydon. The suburb was developed during the inter-war period during the 1920s and 1930s, and is remarkable for its many Art Deco houses...
, Purley
Purley
- in England :*Purley, London**Purley Way, out-of-town retail area*Purley-on-Thames, in Berkshire- People :*David Purley , British race driver*Purley, several members of a fictional family in 1996's Secrets & Lies...
, New Addington
New Addington
New Addington is an area on the edge of South London in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a large local authority estate surrounded by open countryside, woodland and golf courses. The Prime Meridian crosses the eastern edge of New Addington...
and South Croydon
South Croydon
South Croydon is a locality in Greater London, the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon about 1 km in radius, centred on the Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is part of the South Croydon post town and in the London Borough of Croydon...
areas, and has gained Specialist Science College
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
status. Riddlesdown is the largest school in Croydon in terms of pupil numbers. In September 2009, the school's name changed from Riddlesdown High School to Riddlesdown Collegiate, featuring six colleges; four of which will hold a mixture of years 7-11, a Creative Performing Arts college and a Sixth Form college.
The colleges motto is "Learners of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow" as voted for by the school's student body.
Four of the six colleges in the collegiate are 11-16 colleges with another for sixth form (16-19) and a Creative and Performing Arts College.
In an Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection in 2009 the majority of the results were Grade 3 (broadly average or below average), with some Grade 2 (generally above average), compared with the previous 2005 inspection, which contained mostly Grade 2 results with some Grade 1 (exceptionally and consistently high) and few Grade 3.
In 1992, Riddlesdown was the first school in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
to be awarded Grant Maintained status by the Secretary of State for Education, and since then about 300 pupils have been admitted to the school by the Board of Governors each year.
In 1999, a Sixth Form Centre was established on the site and Riddlesdown became a Voluntary Aided School
Voluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
under the Bourne Foundation.
Extensions:
- School foyer built with 3 new classrooms above.
- An extension to the Science department was built, with 16 new classrooms.
- A bridge was built to join the two buildings of Humanities Faculty, now Phoenix Collge.
- The CPA sports facilities were extended so the sports hall is now conjoined with a new fitness room, with the College VI common room residing above.
- A small 1 classroom extension, with a glass corridor surrounding it in Aquilla College.
- An extension to the CPA Drama and Music block was built, with eight new practice rooms, and two music tech class room and a separate Music technology class room in which the computer equipment needed is used.
