The trust that runs a Purley secondary school is hoping to open a new primary school in the north of the borough.

The Collegiate Trust, which runs Riddlesdown Collegiate, has drawn up plans for a primary school with capacity for 90 pupils in each year group.

It expects to submit the proposal to the Department for Education later this year.

It comes after Croydon Council announced last year it may be forced to rely on the formation of new free schools to meet rising demand for new places.

Gordon Smith, chief executive of the Collegiate Trust, said: "We want to bring the quality of education enjoyed by students in our secondary school at Riddlesdown Collegiate to a new primary school for the children and families in the north-west of Croydon.

"Having analysed the need in that area and the standars achieved in current schools, we recently informed Croydon Council of our intention to develop this project."

The trust is to launch a public consultation to determine the best location for the new school, proposed to be called Collegiate Free Primary School. 

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