Oasis Academy Coulsdon Review 2026: A family-structured secondary with a strong personal development offer

A clear through-line runs across this academy’s public messaging and its day-to-day structures: high expectations, consistency, and a deliberate focus on personal development alongside GCSE study. The “Family” pastoral model keeps students with the same Family Leader and mentor for five years, which is designed to create continuity from Year 7 through Year 11.

Leadership is stable. Catrin Green was appointed substantive Principal in April 2021, following a period as interim principal. The academy sits within Oasis Community Learning, a multi-academy trust, and has been an Oasis academy since opening in September 2008.

The latest Ofsted inspection took place on 19 and 20 March 2024 and confirmed the academy continues to be Good.

The academy’s strongest identity marker is its deliberate language of belonging. In official materials, the word “family” appears repeatedly, and it is reinforced structurally through the Family and House systems rather than being left as a general value statement. Students join a Year 7 Family led by a Family Leader, and remain with that leader as they move up the school. Alongside this, each student stays in the same mentor group for five years, giving a consistent adult point of contact across key transition moments and examination years.

The house system adds a second layer of identity. Students are assigned to one of four houses, Everest, Sahara, Pacific, and Redwood, and earn merit points that contribute to both personal rewards and house totals. This design matters because it creates a routine, visible way to acknowledge attendance, effort, and participation, not only attainment.

A modern secondary experience is increasingly shaped by access to technology at home. The academy’s Oasis Horizons programme aims to level that playing field by providing each student with an iPad for the duration of their time at the school, intended for use in lessons and at home. For families, the practical implication is that homework and independent study are more likely to assume consistent device access, with fewer workarounds for those without a home device.

Pastoral tone is framed as supportive but firm. In the principal’s messaging to families, the academy sets out a high-expectations stance and describes the relationship with students as caring while still being willing to apply “tough love” when needed. This is useful context for parents weighing fit: the culture is designed to be structured and purposeful, not informal or laissez-faire.

Outcomes sit in the broad middle of the national performance distribution, with a profile that will feel familiar to many London secondaries: some clear strengths, alongside areas families may want to explore in more detail during a visit.

Ranking context (FindMySchool)

Ranked 1721st in England and 18th in Croydon for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). This reflects solid performance, in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

Attainment and progress

The academy’s Attainment 8 score is 46.3. Progress 8 is -0.16, which indicates students, on average, made slightly below-average progress compared with similar prior attainment nationally.

EBacc and languages

EBacc Average Point Score is 4.28, and 19.3% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc. The academy’s EBacc APS sits above the England average of 4.08, suggesting that, for the cohort entered, EBacc outcomes are a relative strength.

These figures are best interpreted together. Attainment 8 gives a sense of overall GCSE outcomes across a student’s best eight subjects, while Progress 8 signals whether students make more or less progress than similar pupils nationally from the end of primary. If you are comparing options locally, FindMySchool’s Local Hub pages and Comparison Tool can help you view this profile alongside nearby schools in a consistent format.

The academy describes its curriculum as broad and ambitious, and the most recent inspection evidence supports a strongly planned, sequenced approach. In practice, this means subject content is set out to build year-on-year, with vocabulary and key concepts selected deliberately rather than being left to chance or teacher preference.

For parents, the practical question is often, “What will my child’s lessons feel like?” A strong clue comes from the way the academy links curriculum to explicit, structured routines in the day. The timetable includes daily mentor time and defined check-in and check-out points, which typically support a calmer start to learning and clearer expectations around equipment, readiness, and attendance.

The Oasis Horizons iPad programme also suggests a teaching model that expects students to engage with learning resources beyond exercise books alone. Where this works well, it can support retrieval practice, independent study, and access to lesson materials at home. Where families may want to probe further is how the academy supports students who find organisation challenging, including how online platforms and homework expectations are introduced in Year 7.

As an 11 to 16 secondary, the academy’s destination point is post-16 education rather than A-level performance on site. The most recent inspection report describes a structured careers programme in the upper years, including older pupils taking part in charity projects, public speaking, and university visits as part of careers education.

Because there is no sixth form, families should plan early for Year 11 decision-making. The right post-16 route will vary: sixth form colleges, school sixth forms elsewhere, and apprenticeships can all be appropriate depending on grades, vocational interests, and travel time. The inspection evidence also notes the provider access legislation requirements, which is relevant for families wanting balanced information about technical qualifications and apprenticeship routes.

Main Year 7 entry (Croydon-coordinated)

For most applicants, Year 7 entry is coordinated by Croydon. The published timetable for September 2026 entry is clear:

• Applications open: 01 September 2025

• Statutory deadline: 31 October 2025

• National Offer Day: 02 March 2026

• Accept or decline deadline: 16 March 2026

Open evenings and open events are typically held in September and October, aligned to the application window. If you are trying to assess realistic admissions chances, use FindMySchool Map Search to measure your precise home-to-school distance, then compare it to the most recently offered distance.

Distance and allocation

In 2024, the last distance offered was 1.807 miles. Distances vary annually based on applicant distribution; proximity provides priority but does not guarantee a place.

Enhanced Learning and specialist autism provision

The academy is part of Croydon’s Enhanced Learning offer in mainstream settings, and Croydon describes the provision here as supporting pupils with autism, with admissions routed via the local authority SEN team. The most recent inspection report also states the academy provides resourced provision for up to 30 children with autism. For families considering this pathway, the critical first step is understanding whether placement is via an EHCP process or a separate local authority route, and what evidence is required.

The pastoral model is the academy’s most distinctive operational feature. Keeping students with the same Family Leader and mentor over five years is intended to reduce the “handover loss” that can occur when staff changes break continuity. This can be particularly valuable around the key pressure points, settling into Year 7, GCSE option choices at the end of Year 9, and the sustained effort required through Year 11.

Support for SEND is explicitly referenced in official information, including for the academy’s resourced provision. For parents, the most useful due diligence questions are practical ones: how communication works between home and the Family Leader, how learning plans are reviewed, and what day-to-day adaptations look like in mixed-ability classrooms.

Ofsted also reported that pupils are happy and safe at school, and that relationships between pupils and adults are positive.

Personal development is presented as a formal strand rather than an add-on. The inspection report references opportunities such as a Personal Development Award, clubs including gardening and debating, student newspaper involvement, and annual musical production.

The academy’s enrichment information expands this picture into a broader calendar of activity. It references an annual Year 7 team-building residential, curriculum-linked visits, and overseas opportunities including a football tour to Spain and language trips for GCSE students (trips vary by year and cohort).

For parents who want concrete examples, historic published club timetables show the kind of lunchtime and after-school options that tend to run, including STEM Club, Debate Club, Pride Club, Computer Coding, Homework Club, and sports options such as table tennis and rounders. The point is not that every club will run every term, but that enrichment is structured and timetable-driven, which usually correlates with stronger take-up and consistency.

The published academy day starts with arrival from 07:45, check-in at 08:20, and teaching periods running through to check-out at 15:00, followed by after-school intervention and enrichment up to 17:00 (club end times vary by activity). Wednesdays have an earlier finish time, with check-out at 14:10.

Transport is a practical advantage for many families. Croydon lists bus routes 466, 404, and 60 as local links. For drivers, it is still worth checking event-specific parking and drop-off arrangements directly with the academy, particularly for open events.

• No sixth form on site: Students move on at 16, so post-16 planning needs to start early in Year 10 or at the start of Year 11, especially if you want specific courses or a particular college.

• Distance-based allocation is changeable: In 2024, the last distance offered was 1.807 miles. Distances vary annually based on applicant distribution; proximity provides priority but does not guarantee a place.

• Progress measure slightly below average: A Progress 8 score of -0.16 suggests outcomes are not uniformly strong across all starting points, so parents should ask how the academy targets support for students who need to catch up, and how it stretches higher prior attainers.

• Resourced autism provision needs careful route planning: Enhanced Learning and resourced provision routes can differ from mainstream entry, and families will want clarity on decision points, evidence requirements, and transition support.

This is a structured, community-facing secondary where the pastoral model and personal development offer are central to how the school runs, not peripheral. The academy provides a clear daily routine, a continuity-based Family system, and a serious enrichment programme that extends beyond sport into leadership, performance, and clubs.

Best suited to families who value a consistent behaviour framework and strong pastoral continuity through Years 7 to 11, including those exploring specialist autism support through the local authority route. The main challenge for many applicants is admission competitiveness, particularly where distance is a deciding factor.