WHAT? WHERE?

The grounds of Trinity School in Croydon, Surrey.

Trinity School is a highly regarded day school in Shirley Park near Croydon with a longstanding reputation for excellence. Known for its outstanding music programme, including the internationally recognised Trinity Boys Choir, the school also has a strong academic record and a co-curricular programme to rival any other. Trinity is also pretty handy on the sporting front.

Part of the John Whitgift Foundation, Trinity has been a boys’ school for most of its almost 150-year history, with a co-ed Sixth Form since 2011. But big news in 2025 are plans to extend co-education to all years. Girls will join the Year 6 and 7 intakes in 2027, and by 2031 they’ll be fully ensconced throughout.

It’s fantastic news for families – and no doubt there will be many a younger sister eager to join in 2027. The move comes following the closure in August 2025 of sister school Old Palace in central Croydon. Whitgift School, also part of the John Whitgift Foundation, will remain all-boys.

Trinity School is set on a lovely 27-acre campus in Shirley Park, having moved here from central Croydon in 1965. The existing school was purpose-built.

In 2025/26, Trinity celebrates the 60 year anniversary of this move and there’s lots going on, including a challenge to all students to raise £60 for the Trinity Bursary Fund.

There are currently 1,050 pupils, but the introduction of girls will see numbers grow to 1,400 in the coming years. It’s a school with diversity and inclusion at its core – a legacy that stems from the founder Archbishop John Whitgift. About 60 per cent of pupils come from state primary schools, and 40 per cent are from ethnic minority backgrounds. Pupils are from a geographical area that includes south-east and south-west London, north Surrey, and the local Croydon area. Trinity School prides itself on producing confident boys and girls who are grounded, unpretentious and inclusive.

FACILITIES

Trinity School in Croydon. — *Photo credit: Simon Stacpoole*

For a school on an urban site, just two miles from the centre of Croydon, facilities are phenomenal. Headmaster Alasdair Kennedy jokes it’s not for those seeking a ‘Hogwarts experience’ with vast driveways and turreted buildings. But I disagree.

There’s everything you’d expect from a top senior school – and a lot more. Let’s start with the music department where you’ll find no less than 25 Steinway pianos, a 450-seat Concert hall and a 120-seat Recital Hall. There are also two recording studios, a Choir Room with a Wyvern Church Organ and a vast array of sound-proof practice pods (I lost count), plus the 140-seat Mitre Theatre.

In the art department, you’ll find a series of bright and spacious creative studios alongside exhibition spaces. There’s a ceramics studio (and kiln), as well as photography studios and a dark room.

Sports wise, there are pitches galore – eight for rugby, four football and four cricket squares – alongside two astros, multiple netball and tennis courts, three squash courts, and two large indoor sports halls. There’s also a strength and conditioning suite, fitness room, 25m indoor pool and a shooting range. A fairly new – and popular – addition is a climbing wall. Sports facilities are spread across the main school site and Sandilands, a five-minute walk away. The school also makes use of Shirley Park Golf Club, next door.

You’ll also find a library, a dedicated SEND space, science labs and all the usual classrooms. There’s also a fabulous Sixth Form centre.

The school was purpose-built in the Sixties, and its modern Brutalist design makes for a functional and well thought-out-school. It’s centred around an attractive quad, compete with gardens and pond.

The introduction of girls will see new developments. The Sixth Form Centre, drama facilities, sports facilities and classrooms are all earmarked for work.

SPORT

Trinity’s sporting ethos is wholeheartedly centred around inclusivity. It takes a broad approach and seeks to produce well-rounded athletes who have a lifelong love of sport.

It’s sports-for-all, and the fact that all pupils represent the school in fixtures supports that. Rather than specialising in one sport, the school encourages variety and it’s not uncommon for students to take part in three different sports in a single day. (They’re most likely involved in music or drama too – but more on that later.)

Rugby, football, hockey and cricket dominate the sporting agenda, but water polo and netball are also popular. And all are played to a high level. Squash and basketball are growing in popularity, too.

The trophy cabinet glistens with the school’s successes which includes current national championships for the U13 and U15 football squads, national champions for the U13 and U15 water polo, and a world championship for the U19 netball team in 2023. Trinity also boasts rugby and hockey wins at regional and national level. Impressive.

THE ARTS

Boys from Trinity School in Croydon playing at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.

The school’s music programme is outstanding – closer to specialist music school level than the average school music offering.

All students – whether musically experienced or not – have the opportunity to discover a passion for music, and taster lessons and instruments are offered free of charge. There are 700 weekly music lessons for 25 different instruments including the harp, double bass, French horn, oboe and bassoon. About 350 pupils learn the piano with many working well above the top Grade 8 level.

There are more than 50 ensembles covering the jazz, pop and rock genres. As well, there are four orchestras, including a full symphony orchestra. Unusually for a school it’s recently performed the whole of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade – a complex piece which demands great precision. There’s also a big jazz department with three bands, a Jazz Collective, session pros and a Jazz Jam, among others.

Performance opportunities are vast – more than 100 each year in venues ranging from the school’s own concert hall to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and local primary schools and care homes.

Drama, too, is strong and several Trinity students balance school with a professional career including two boys performing on the West End and two who have TV and film roles. They’re supported at Trinity with audition coaching and flexible academic arrangements.

ACADEMICS

Trinity School is academically selective (it’s in the top 8% per cent of all schools nationally according to The Times Parent Power list), and as such academic rigour is high – but not in a hot-housey way. There’s a big focus on supporting pupils and fostering a love of learning. The school is also keen to develop skills in pupils that will see them equipped for life beyond school including creative and critical thinking and problem solving. Academics are balanced with the extensive co-curricular programme – and from what I could see this is a buzzy and dynamic school that’s achieving great things on a lot of levels.

At GCSE in 2024, 40 per cent of pupils achieve Grade 9 (A*); 66 per cent achieve Grade 8-9 (A-A*); and 86 per cent achieve Grade 7-9 (A-A*). In a cohort of 125 pupils, eight students achieved 11 or more straight Grade 9s.

SIXTH FORM

Each year around 60 new students join the co-ed Sixth Form from a range of state and independent schools. An induction programme, which includes joiners’ dinners, quiz nights and a team-building day – creates a smooth transition for the newbies and helps to build new friendships.

All students choose four A Level subjects to study in the Lower Sixth, and the majority will drop one by the end of the first year and continue with three. Alongside their A Levels, students also follow the Trinity Diploma, an enrichment program that encourages them to explore topics beyond the curriculum. Most will also undertake an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification). Almost 30 different subjects are on offer at A Level, well above the average of 20 at most schools.

Student results are impressive, too. In a cohort of 168 pupils in 2024, 33 per cent achieved A*; 67 per cent achieved A*-A; and 91 per cent achieved A*-B. The top five university destinations in 2024 were Bath, Manchester, Nottingham, Southampton and Warwick. Other popular destinations include Exeter, Bristol, Loughborough, Durham, UCL, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Edinburgh.

On average, about 10 per cent of Trinity students go on to Oxbridge and 10 per cent study medicine, dentistry of vet science. Some students also go onto specialist arts colleges, international universities and degree apprenticeship programmes.

PASTORAL CARE

As a school with inclusion at its heart, pastoral care is at the centre of everything. For a high-achieving senior school, Trinity has an approachable and relaxed vibe – not easy to pull off. Relationships are excellent between teachers and students, and there’s a strong mutual respect (noted by ISI inspectors).

There’s a good support system which includes a dedicated pastoral team, tutors and heads of year, plus nurses, counsellors and a clinical psychologist. The team is also trained in mental health first aid. And there are also quiet, mindful spaces including the library.

The learning support department offers help with a variety of needs – including English skills, study techniques, organisation and worries about schoolwork.

THE HEAD

Alasdair Kennedy is the headmaster at Trinity School, having arrived in 2016 from Dulwich College where he was Deputy Master. Before that he was at Sevenoaks School, and Rugby School before that.

Warm, friendly and down-to-earth, he’s a likeable chap with a genuine passion for diversity and inclusion in education. Trinity’s cultural and socio-economic diversity is a source of pride, but he’s even happier at the strong and supportive community at the school which was noted as a strength in the most recent ISI report.

The move to co-education seems an obvious next move for a school that values diversity – and Mr Kennedy is excited about extending the school’s vibrant, rich and equal education to girls.

Physics is his subject (he read Engineering at Cambridge), and impressively he still teaches. Originally from Edinburgh, he comes from a family of teachers (both parents and one of his two brothers). He has three sons, the youngest of which is at Trinity, and lives with his wife Ruth a few miles from the school in Sydenham.

QUIRKS

The Trinity Boys Choir is one of the most successful boys’ choirs in the world with more than 100 students singing in professional venues including Glyndebourne, the Royal Albert Hall and the London Coliseum each year. They also tour nationally and have taken to stage at opera houses in Milan, Venice and Brussels. Member of the Trinity Boys Choir have performed the roles of the fairies in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream on multiple occasions, including with the English National Opera. Trinity boys are just as keen to be fairies as they are to represent the school in football or rugby.

WRAP AROUND CARE

The co-curricular programme at Trinity School is super-strong with more than 100 different clubs, society and sports offered. There is literally something from every interest. The programme runs before and after school, and also during break times. The list of activities on offer is staggering – everything from cartography and model-making to young enterprise, shooting and sailing. There are 20+ musical groups, 30 sports clubs: six linguistic groups, 12 academic clubs, nine vocational and eight with a DT focus. The list just seems to go on and on… and on.

Students also have access to the library before and after school.

ISI REPORT

The most recent ISI inspection was in November 2024, which highlighted the school’s pastoral programme and the strength of the school community. Read the full report here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

No mobiles are allowed out at school for pupils from Year 6 to GCSE including during break and lunch. Sixth Form students may have phones with them, but they must be switched off during lessons and other activities.

TRANSPORT

East Croydon Station is just a 10-minute bus ride from Trinity School, and more than half of students will come via this route. Sandilands tram stop is less than a mile away and trams come from Wimbledon and Beckenham. It’s a 10-minute bus ride from Sandilands to the school.

Trinity also operates a fleet of school buses that take in routes to Balham, Dulwich Village, Beckenham, Bromley, Orpington, Oxted, Godstone, Caterham, Coulsdon, Purley, Cheam, Sutton and Wimbledon.

FEES

The 2024/25 school fee is £26,949 per year (including VAT). From September 2025 fees will rise to £29,240 (including VAT).

Trinity has a generous bursary and scholarship programme in place funded by either The John Whitgift Foundation or The Trinity Bursary Fund.

All students at 10+, 11+, 13+ and Sixth Form are considered for an academic scholarship, and students may also apply for scholarships in music, sport, drama, art, and design technology.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Parents praise the dedication of teachers, the breadth of the curriculum and the fact that students are stretched and challenged but also supported.

One parent said the school was incredibly welcoming and wonderfully inclusive. Another said there was an atmosphere of warmth, friendliness and teamwork that supports pupils’ wellbeing.

The co-curricular programme was also noted as a stand-out feature at Trinity School. Parents said it was extensive and diverse, and complemented the curriculum well.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Academic and driven children with a passion for learning will grasp this opportunity with both hands. Whatever your child’s interest, they’ll be well-catered for at Trinity. Sports, music and drama are all particularly strong.

Not for: This is a busy and buzzy school, so those who just cruise along and don’t get involved won’t get the most out of it.

Dare to disagree? Trinity School has an open day on Sat 4 Oct 2025. Weekday tours are also held during the summer and autumn terms. Book here.

Trinity School, Addiscombe Road, Shirley Park, CR0 7LB

Trinity School, Croydon

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