Harris Academy Purley

What Ofsted found

Full inspection, March 2023.

• Overall effectiveness: Good
• The quality of education: Good
• Behaviour and attitudes: Good
• Personal development: Good
• Leadership and management: Good
• Sixth-form provision: Good

• Inspectors found that pupils behave well and that this is a calm and orderly school where bullying is rare.
• Inspectors found that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities get the specific help they need to access the same curriculum as their peers and achieve well.

Our summary of Ofsted's report. Read the full reports on Ofsted's website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The school

• The academy's motto is 'to learn, to think, to act'.
• The academy's sporting, music, art and creative facilities are described as first class.

Source: Harris Academy Purley website; Harris Academy Purley website. Checked 12 November 2026.

How it teaches

• Key Stage 4 students elect four GCSE options, including a humanities subject and a creative or languages subject.

Source: Harris Academy Purley website. Checked 12 November 2026.

Music, sport and trips

• Year 13 students have gone on an ecology residential trip to Nettlecombe Court, Somerset.

Source: Harris Academy Purley website. Checked 12 November 2026.

Admissions

• The farthest distance under the nearness rule for offers was 7.9 miles, taking the siblings rule into account.
• The academy is oversubscribed, so applicants are placed on a waiting list under the over subscription criteria.
• The published admission number for Year 7 is 180 places.
• Applicants sit a non-verbal reasoning test on a testing day in December to be placed in ability bands.

Source: Harris Academy Purley website. Checked 12 November 2026.

Nursery

• No nursery or pre-school provision is described on the pages reviewed.

Source: Harris Academy Purley website. Checked 12 November 2026.

Support

• A learning resource base in the academy gives students access to specialist intervention as appropriate.
• The SEND Coordinator is Ms Rahima Khanam, Assistant Principal and Literacy Lead.

Source: Harris Academy Purley website. Checked 12 November 2026.

Grammar schools within 15 miles

• Wilson's SchoolBoys, Wallington, under a mile. Sutton Selective Eligibility Test
• Wallington High School for GirlsGirls, Wallington, 2 miles. Sutton Selective Eligibility Test
• Wallington County Grammar SchoolBoys, Wallington, 2 miles. Sutton Selective Eligibility Test
• Sutton Grammar SchoolBoys, Sutton, 4 miles. Sutton Selective Eligibility Test
• Nonsuch High School for GirlsGirls, Sutton, 5 miles. Sutton Selective Eligibility Test
• Newstead Wood SchoolGirls, Orpington, 8 miles. Newstead Wood Selection Test
• Tiffin SchoolBoys, Kingston upon Thames, 9 miles
• St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar SchoolBoys, Orpington, 9 miles. St Olave's Selective Entrance Test
• The Tiffin Girls' SchoolGirls, Kingston upon Thames, 10 miles
• Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar SchoolSidcup, 11 miles. Bexley Selection Test
• Bexley Grammar SchoolWelling, 12 miles. Bexley Selection Test
• Townley Grammar SchoolGirls, Bexleyheath, 13 miles. Bexley Selection Test