Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School
Voluntary aided school · sixth form · 833 pupils
93% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.3
Academy converter
Shirley High School Performing Arts College
- Pupils on roll
- 800of 1,105 places
- Free school meals
- 51.9%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 120
- Ofsted
- Good, 30 November 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Shirley High School Performing Arts College (URN 101825, until 1 January 2012).
What the data says
Of the 165 pupils who finished Year 11 at Shirley High School Performing Arts College in 2023, 45% stayed on in Shirley High School Performing Arts College’s own sixth form (Croydon average 48%), 44% went to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 70 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 57% went to university (Croydon 43%, England 37%), and 3% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
Photography is unusually popular at GCSE: 27% of the year group took it, against 6% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 37.7 against 46.1 across England and 44.5 in Croydon, with 23% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Croydon and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Croydon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 165 | 3,906 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 95% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 93% | 91% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 45% | 48% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 4% | 8% | 13% |
| — further education college | 44% | 34% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 1% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 5% | 4% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 2% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Croydon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 70 | 3,304 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 84% | 76% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 57% | 43% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 3% | 15% | 19% |
| Further education | 1% | 7% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 7% |
| Employment | 21% | 21% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 16% | 18% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Croydon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 37.7 | 44.5 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 23% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 49% | 62% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 32% | 52% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.20 | 3.99 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 49% | 41% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 38.1 | 37.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 37.3 | 49.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 37% | 27% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 119 | 99% | 89% | 7% | 20% | 52% |
| Mathematics | 119 | 99% | 88% | 5% | 22% | 54% |
| English Literature | 113 | 94% | 86% | 9% | 21% | 60% |
| Combined Science | 111 | 93% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 37% |
| Geography | 53 | 44% | 41% | 4% | 25% | 42% |
| Business Studies | 33 | 28% | 18% | 0% | 20% | 58% |
| French | 32 | 27% | 18% | 22% | 29% | 69% |
| Photography | 32 | 27% | 6% | 13% | 19% | 97% |
| History | 27 | 23% | 41% | 11% | 26% | 52% |
| Religious Studies | 25 | 21% | 31% | 8% | 32% | 76% |
| Fine Art | 21 | 18% | 9% | 43% | 28% | 95% |
| Media Studies | 20 | 17% | 4% | 5% | 20% | 45% |
| Drama | 16 | 13% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 56% |
| Physical Education | 15 | 13% | 11% | 20% | 24% | 60% |
| Spanish | 14 | 12% | 19% | 7% | 27% | 57% |
| Computer Science | 10 | 8% | 13% | 0% | 30% | 40% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 9 | 8% | 8% | 22% | 21% | 78% |
| Music | 8 | 7% | 5% | 13% | 33% | 75% |
| Chemistry | 8 | 7% | 23% | 25% | 47% | 100% |
| Dance | 8 | 7% | 1% | 25% | 27% | 75% |
| Physics | 8 | 7% | 23% | 25% | 46% | 88% |
| Biology | 8 | 7% | 23% | 25% | 45% | 100% |
| Design and Technology | 7 | 6% | 11% | 14% | 23% | 86% |
| Turkish | 3 | 3% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Portuguese | 2 | 2% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| German | 1 | 1% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Art and Design | 1 | 1% | 7% | — | 24% | — |
| Gujarati | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 57% | — |
| Italian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare Skills | 24 | 50% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | This school | Croydon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 114 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 48 | 1,437 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | C- | C | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 26.21 | 30.93 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | C- | C | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 4% | 9% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociology | 19 | 40% | 13% |
| Media Studies | 16 | 33% | 4% |
| Psychology | 16 | 33% | 23% |
| History | 9 | 19% | 13% |
| Politics | 9 | 19% | 6% |
| English Literature | 8 | 17% | 11% |
| Fine Art | 8 | 17% | 3% |
| Biology | 6 | 13% | 20% |
| Photography | — | — | 3% |
| Business Studies | — | — | 13% |
| Chemistry | — | — | 17% |
| Geography | — | — | 10% |
| Mathematics | — | — | 31% |
| Polish | — | — | 0% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Management | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 14 | 29% | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 13 | 27% | — |
| Tourism | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 11 | 23% | — |
| Sports Studies | OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3 | 6 | 13% | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Mathematics | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
Where Shirley High School Performing Arts College is
Other secondary schools in Croydon are shown for comparison; darker blue means more Year 11 leavers stayed in education. The last distance at which this school offered places is not yet on file — it comes from Croydon’s allocation statistics.
Other secondary schools in Croydon
Coloma Convent Girls' School
Academy converter · sixth form · 967 pupils
98% stayed in education · Attainment 8 57.4
Coombe Wood School
Free schools · sixth form · 1,162 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.6
Harris Academy Purley
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,013 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.8
Harris Academy South Norwood
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,008 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.2
Harris City Academy Crystal Palace
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,191 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.3
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.