Margaret Roper

What Margaret Roper does

Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School is a voluntary aided Catholic primary school located on Russell Hill Road in Purley, Croydon, United Kingdom. Operating under the Archdiocese of Southwark and attached to the Parish of St John the Baptist, the school provides education for approximately 213-220 pupils across Reception through Year 6 (ages 4-11) on a single campus, with one class per year group. Founded in its current form on 24 September 1962 by Bishop Cyril Cowderoy, the school delivers the National Curriculum alongside the diocesan 'Come and See' religious education programme, Read Write Inc phonics, French and Latin language instruction, and a swimming curriculum using a shared heated indoor pool with sister school Thomas More. It is open to Catholic families from the Parish of Purley as well as applicants of other faiths or no faith.

The school's revenue model is anchored in UK government per-pupil funding, supplemented by Pupil Premium (£57,980 disclosed for 2025-26) and PE and Sport Premium grants. A secondary commercial stream is wraparound childcare - Breakfast Club at £7.50 per session and After School Club at £14 per session (combined £20/day), with Friday sessions outsourced to Superstars Campz from January 2026. Distribution is direct to families through the school office and on-site delivery; admissions are community-led via the parish, open sessions, school tours, and a 360-degree virtual tour. The school employs approximately 5 senior leaders plus a per-year-group teaching staff, led by Headteacher Dermot Mooney (appointed September 2006), and is governed by a body that includes Foundation Governors appointed by the Diocese.

Margaret Roper has no proprietary technology platform and is not a technology business; its core digital infrastructure consists of Google Classroom for homework and learning management, interactive whiteboards, and broadband. Its competitive position rests on regulatory designation (voluntary aided Catholic status), strong inspection outcomes (Ofsted 2023 Good with Outstanding Early Years and Behaviour; CSI 2026 Outstanding in Catholic Life and Collective Worship), and academically outcomes that materially exceed national averages (KS2 Combined 80% vs National 61%; KS2 Reading 90% vs 74%; KS2 Maths 90% vs 73%). It is a stable, nonprofit, single-site primary school with no external private equity or venture capital involvement.

Name

Margaret Roper

Legal name

Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School

Website

https://margaretroper.croydon.sch.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School is a voluntary aided Catholic primary school in Purley, Croydon, serving approximately 213-220 pupils aged 4-11 across Reception to Year 6, funded primarily by UK government per-pupil grants and supplemented by wraparound childcare fees. Operates under the Archdiocese of Southwark and the Parish of St John the Baptist.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Childcare Centers (EDACAAAN)

Keywords

• Primary education
• Catholic schooling
• Wrap-around childcare
• Religious education
• Phonics literacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Purley, Croydon

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding (Per Pupil): Core operational funding provided by the UK government based on pupil enrollment
2. Wraparound Care Services: Breakfast Club and After School Club providing childcare services to parents for a fee
3. Pupil Premium Grant: Additional government funding for disadvantaged pupils (£1,515 per eligible pupil for 2025-26)
4. PE and Sport Premium: Government funding for primary school sport and physical education development

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School provides Reception-through-Year-6 Catholic primary education built on the National Curriculum and the 'Come and See' religious education programme, with Read Write Inc phonics, French and Latin, swimming, and residential trips. It supplements this with paid wrap-around care (Breakfast Club from 7.30am and After School Club until 5.55pm) for working families, and operates specialist facilities shared with sister school Thomas More.

Product overview

Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School is a voluntary aided Catholic primary school offering a single unified educational service. The school provides primary education from Reception (Red Class) through Year 6 (Violet Class), structured around the National Curriculum enhanced by Religious Education using the 'Come and See' programme. Core educational offerings are supplemented by wrap-around care services (Breakfast and After School Clubs), Pupil Premium support programs for disadvantaged students, and PE & Sports Premium-funded physical education programs. The school operates as one-form entry with approximately 213 pupils and follows the Read Write Inc phonics scheme for early literacy instruction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Catholic Primary Education Services (Reception to Year 6)

Quantifiable outcome

• KS2 Combined Score 80% (vs National 61%) - Reading, Writing & Maths at Expected Standard
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Thomas More High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister school relationship. Thomas More shares its heated indoor swimming pool with Margaret Roper one day per week. The Thomas More Sports Hall is used regularly for PE activities.
• St John the Baptist Catholic Church, PurleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool is attached to the Parish of St John the Baptist, Purley, part of the Archdiocese of Southwark. Parish Priest Fr. Francis Murphy serves as Foundation Governor. School supports parish activities and maintains close faith community ties.
• Purley Food HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool supports Purley Food Hub with regular donations to help food bank support families and individuals in need within the community.
• Superstars CampzminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal childcare provider engaged from January 2026 to deliver Friday After School Club sessions, expanding service to five days per week.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Thomas More Catholic School: Co-located secondary sister school established alongside Margaret Roper in 1962 on the same Purley site. Operates under the same Archdiocese of Southwark, shares its heated indoor swimming pool one day per week, and is the natural feeder secondary for Year 6 leavers — making it the single most comparable organisation in the local Catholic education ecosystem.
• Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School: Catholic primary school in Addiscombe, Croydon, serving a broadly similar Catholic family demographic under the Archdiocese of Southwark. Competes directly with Margaret Roper for Croydon Catholic families and shares the same Ofsted/CSI inspection cadence and faith-based curriculum structure.
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School: Faith-based primary school in Croydon serving the Catholic community in the same Archdiocese of Southwark footprint. Directly comparable in mission (Catholic formation plus National Curriculum), pupil demographic and admissions process, and competes for the same parental cohort across Croydon.
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School: Catholic primary school serving families in the Croydon deanery, operating under the same diocesan inspection regime and offering an equivalent faith-based primary education product from Reception through Key Stage 2. Directly comparable in size band, ethos and regulatory exposure.
• St Chad's Catholic Primary School: Catholic primary school in Caterham within the Archdiocese of Southwark, offering the same Reception–Year 6 Catholic primary model with parallel wraparound care and per-pupil funding dynamics. Comparable in mission, scale and inspection framework to Margaret Roper.
• Holy Trinity Primary School: Local Croydon-area primary school competing for the same non-Catholic and mixed-faith families in Purley and surrounding wards. Comparable in single-form entry size band, Ofsted framework and core curriculum offer, though faith-based positioning differs.
• St Mary's Catholic Junior School: Catholic junior school in the Croydon area covering Key Stage 2 under the same diocesan framework. Operates an equivalent faith-based curriculum and competes for the same Catholic families progressing from local Catholic infant feeders.

Regional players

• Royal Russell School: Independent co-educational day school on the same historic Purley/Addington site lineage as Margaret Roper. Serves an overlapping Croydon family demographic and competes for parents prioritising a values-led education, but operates on fee-paying terms across a much broader primary-through-sixth-form offering.

Others

• Whitgift School: Independent Croydon boys' school that is one of Margaret Roper's top Year 6 destinations. Comparable as a Croydon faith-/values-led education competitor at the secondary level, but operates at very different scale, fee model and age range, so it functions more as a feeder partner than a head-to-head peer.
• The John Fisher School: Catholic boys' secondary in Purley/Sutton, part of the Archdiocese of Southwark network and a consistent Year 6 destination for Margaret Roper pupils. Comparable as a downstream diocesan school serving the same Catholic family pipeline, but at secondary level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/RoperPrimary

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Margaret Roper