Schools are one of the best things about Upper Norwood. Most of the settings with a grade have been rated good or outstanding, and none has been rated inadequate. The nearest primary is usually a short walk away. A secondary school takes a bit longer to reach on foot, but still well under a quarter of an hour. Getting a place is harder than finding a good school.
Ofsted has rated 47 of the 56 graded settings in Croydon good or outstanding, which is well over four in five. Ten of those are outstanding, nine require improvement and none is inadequate. The remaining settings in the borough have no published grade yet, so they tell you nothing either way. Croydon is only one of four councils here, because Upper Norwood also spills into Lambeth, Southwark and Bromley. Two houses on the same ridge can therefore fall under different admissions systems, and which council collects your bin is worth knowing before you choose a road.
Primary schools are close. The Department for Transport's 2019 modelling puts the nearest primary about seven minutes' walk from the average home, and the nearest secondary about 12 minutes on foot or 11 by public transport. Local primaries include Paxton Primary School, Rockmount Primary School and All Saints CofE Primary School. Places at every one of them go by the relevant council's published admissions rules, so living near a school does not secure a place there. A short walk is common round here, and that is exactly why the walk alone never decided anyone's place.
For secondary, St Joseph's College is a Catholic boys' school that has been in Upper Norwood since 1855, and girls can join it at sixth form. Harris Academy Beulah Hill opened under a different name in 1958. The Norwood School and Harris City Academy Crystal Palace are also within reach. Walking times here come with a catch, since the area is built on a hill and a twelve-minute walk downhill to school can be a much slower walk home. Walk the route uphill at about half past three before you count on it, because the 2019 model measures distance and has no view on the gradient.
Schools are among Upper Norwood's real strengths. The hard part for parents is getting a place, not finding a good school.