Howard Primary School

Howard is a two-form community School of 420 pupils whose ages range from 4 - 11 years, maintained by Croydon Council. The main school building was completed in 1897, and was formally opened on the 25th of April 1898. It is, therefore, one of the oldest school buildings still in use in Croydon.

The school was originally called The Dering Place Board School and was made up of two separate departments, one for infants and the other for children above infant age. These departments were amalgamated in 1924 and in September 1930 the school name was altered to "The Howard" when it became an Infant and Junior Mixed School under the direction of Croydon Council.

The school is named after Lord Howard of Effingham (1536 -1624) who once owned the land on which the school is built. Howard was Lord High Admiral to Queen Elizabeth I during the time of the Spanish Armada which explains why the school emblem is an Elizabethan Man of War under full sail. The Latin word Paratus on which the badge sits, stands for `being prepared'.