Bishop Ramsey Church of England School

Bishop Ramsey Church of England School is a larger-than-average 11–18 mixed Church of England academy in Hillingdon and part of the Veritas Educational Trust. Inspectors found it performing well overall, with effective provision across education, behaviour, personal development, leadership and the sixth form. This represents clear improvement since the previous inspection, when the school was judged to require improvement. Pupils generally enjoy school, feel safe and behave well. Leaders place strong emphasis on character development and service, and pupils respond positively to the school’s virtues. The curriculum has been broadened and strengthened, including a greater focus on languages and the EBacc, and provision for pupils with SEND has improved. A new reading approach is beginning to help weaker readers, and sixth-form students benefit from strong subject expertise and purposeful discussion. Safeguarding is effective. The main areas for further work concern consistency. Teachers do not always check understanding precisely enough, so misconceptions and gaps can persist, and the way gaps are addressed varies. Some policies and practices, including aspects of pedagogy and behaviour, are not embedded consistently, and quality assurance needs to become more systematic. There are also occasional low-level disruptions in a few lessons, although staff generally manage these well.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy attending and generally feel safe at school.
• Leaders deliberately focus on pupils’ character development and school virtues.
• The curriculum is ambitious and has been broadened since the previous inspection.
• The school has strengthened the place of languages and the EBacc in the curriculum.
• Provision for pupils with SEND has improved, with teachers usually making effective adjustments.
• The new reading approach is beginning to improve the weakest readers’ fluency.
• Teachers have significant subject expertise, including in the sixth form.
• Pupils are mostly well behaved and show positive attitudes to learning.
• The school responds swiftly to bullying and helps pupils understand the impact of their behaviour.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment activities and careers guidance.
• Staff feel well supported and listened to by leaders.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Checking of pupils’ understanding during lessons is not always precise.
• Misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ knowledge can emerge and persist.
• The way teachers address identified gaps in understanding is inconsistent.
• Some policies and practices are not embedded with sufficient rigour.
• Pedagogy and behaviour policy implementation can be inconsistent.
• Quality assurance and oversight systems need further strengthening.
• Curriculum clarity is less developed in some subjects.
• There are occasional incidences of disruption in a few lessons.

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 Bishop Ramsey Church of England School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 14.3% 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, 3.2% of pupils at Bishop Ramsey Church of England School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Bishop Ramsey Church of England School had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.8% 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, 12.6% of pupils at Bishop Ramsey Church of England School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.4% 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 Bishop Ramsey Church of England School received £7,527 and spent £7,604 for each of its 1,256 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £516,000 (£411 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.

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• Secondary Schools

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What is Bishop Ramsey Church of England School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bishop Ramsey Church of England School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Bishop Ramsey Church of England School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bishop Ramsey Church of England School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Bishop Ramsey Church of England School have?

Bishop Ramsey Church of England School has 1,218 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bishop Ramsey Church of England School cover?

Bishop Ramsey Church of England School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Bishop Ramsey Church of England School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 56.8, and 63% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Bishop Ramsey Church of England School?

Bishop Ramsey Church of England School is at Hume Way, Ruislip, HA4 8EE.