Lift New Rickstones

New Rickstones Academy has been confirmed as a good school in its first ungraded inspection. The school exhibits a positive atmosphere where students are engaged, respectful, and focused on their learning. Pupils appreciate the variety of extracurricular activities and feel well-supported in their studies, particularly in the sixth form where career guidance is well-received. The curriculum is ambitious and generally well-executed; however, there are some inconsistencies in teaching that affect certain students' ability to meet curriculum expectations.

Strengths

• Pupils display positive attitudes towards their education.
• The school provides a broad range of extracurricular activities.
• Staff effectively support pupils with special educational needs.
• Reading is prioritized, with effective interventions for struggling readers.
• The atmosphere is orderly, with high levels of pupil concentration.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers lack consistent training to support the new key stage 3 curriculum.
• Not all teachers adapt their lessons based on identified gaps in pupils' knowledge.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Lift New Rickstones attended 90.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 7.2% of pupils at Lift New Rickstones were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Lift New Rickstones had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 16.8% of pupils at Lift New Rickstones were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Lift New Rickstones received £8,072 and spent £7,890 for each of its 1,209 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £971,000 (£803 per pupil).

Across all 59 schools of Lift Schools, income was £8,746 and spending £8,644 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Witham · Essex local authority: places and applications

Lift New Rickstones is part of Lift Schools, which runs 62 schools. The nearest others:

• Lift Maltings Witham
• Lift Ashingdon Rochford
• Lift Plumberow Hockley
• Lift Greensward Hockley
• Lift Hockley Hockley
• Lift Westerings Hockley
• Lift Clacton Clacton On Sea
• Lift Hamford Walton On The Naze
• Lift Tendring Frinton-On-Sea
• Lift Bexleyheath Bexleyheath

What is Lift New Rickstones's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lift New Rickstones is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was Lift New Rickstones last inspected by Ofsted?

Lift New Rickstones was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does Lift New Rickstones have?

Lift New Rickstones has 1,221 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lift New Rickstones cover?

Lift New Rickstones for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Lift New Rickstones's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.5, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Lift New Rickstones?

Lift New Rickstones is at Conrad Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 2SD.