Riddlesdown Collegiate

Riddlesdown Collegiate (formerly Riddlesdown High School) is a secondary school with academy status located in the Riddlesdown area of the London Borough of Croydon, UK. It is a coeducational school, of between 1800 and 2000 students (400 of those being post–16 students)^{[citation needed]}. The school takes its pupils mainly from the Sanderstead, Selsdon, Purley, Kenley, New Addington and South Croydon areas, and specialises in science. Riddlesdown is the largest school in Croydon in terms of pupil numbers, and one of the most over-subscribed schools in the area.^[1]

Riddlesdown Collegiate
Address
Honister Heights Purley , London , CR8 1EX United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°19′33″N 0°05′16″W
Information
Former name	Riddlesdown High School (until 2009)
Type	Academy
Motto	Learners of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow
Opened	January 1958
Sister school	As part of The Collegiate Trust: Courtwood Primary School Gilbert Scott Primary School Gossops Green Primary School Kenley Primary School Quest Academy Waterfield Primary School
Department for Education URN	138178 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Parimal Bhatt
Teaching staff	approx. 120
Years offered	7-13
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	approx. 1900
Colour(s)	Blue, green, purple, maroon, dark blue, yellow
Website	http://www.riddlesdown.org

History

Riddlesdown school was built in 1957 and opened in January 1958^[2] as a mixed secondary modern school. In 1971 it converted to comprehensive status, reopening as Riddlesdown High School, and remained a local authority mixed comprehensive school until 31 December 1991 when it was give grant maintained status.^[3] In 1996, a Sixth Form Centre was established on the site and Riddlesdown became a voluntary aided school under the Bourne Foundation in 1999.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2009, the school's name changed from Riddlesdown High School to Riddlesdown Collegiate, featuring six colleges; four of which hold a mixture of years 7–11, a Creative Performing Arts college and a Sixth Form college.^{[citation needed]} The school gained Academy status on 1 June 2012.^[2]

In 2017, the collegiate was awarded the World-class schools award, one of about 60 in the UK.^[4]

Colleges

Each of the six colleges has a distinctive uniform colour variation based on the college colour. 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.

List of Colleges

College name	Age/type	Main colour
Aquila	11–16	Blue
Orion	11–16	Green
Pegasus	11–16	Purple
Phoenix	11–16	Red
Creative Performing Arts	CPA	Dark blue
College VI	Post–16	Yellow/orange

Ofsted

In a full Section 5 Ofsted inspection in 2016, the school was rated outstanding;^[5] however, an initial Section 8 inspection in 2021 suggested that a full inspection might have resulted in a lower rating, necessitating a full inspection next.^[6]

Notable alumni

• Kate Moss, supermodel, 1985–1990^[7]
• Rickie Haywood Williams, DJ/broadcaster, 1991–1996^[8]
• Nigel Reo-Coker, footballer, 1995–2000^[9]
• Klariza Clayton, actress, 2000–2005^[10]
• Kieran Gibbs, footballer, 2001–2006^{[citation needed]}
• Lucy Hutchinson (actress), actress^{[citation needed]}