Ridgeway Secondary School

Ridgeway Secondary School is a small secondary comprehensive in the Shires Multi-Academy Trust that has made rapid progress since joining the trust in 2022. This was its first section 5 inspection, and inspectors found behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management to be outstanding, with the quality of education good. Pupils meet high expectations, corridors are calm, attitudes to learning are exceptional, and attendance is exemplary, including for pupils with SEND. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, reading is a priority, and SEND provision is a strength. Personal development through the Ridgeway 360 award, pupil responsibilities, careers work and wider experiences is exceptional, and pupils feel safe and well supported. Safeguarding is effective, staff feel supported, and governance holds the school to account well. The main area to improve is assessment consistency: in some lessons staff do not check securely enough whether pupils have learned the intended content, so misconceptions and gaps can persist before pupils move on. Overall, this is a strong school with one clear curriculum-assessment focus for further improvement.

Strengths

• Outstanding behaviour and attitudes, with calm corridors and rare disruption
• Exceptional pupils' attitudes to learning and pride in achievement
• Exemplary attendance, including for pupils with SEND
• Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum delivered by knowledgeable staff
• Strong SEND provision with accurate identification and well-designed adjustments
• Reading is a top priority with targeted support for struggling readers
• Exceptional personal development through the Ridgeway 360 award
• Rich careers programme preparing pupils well for next steps
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Supportive leadership that considers staff wellbeing and workload
• Governors hold the school to account well

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent checks on pupils' understanding in some lessons
• Some misconceptions and knowledge gaps are not identified or addressed before pupils move on

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 Ridgeway Secondary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 13.6% 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, 5.3% of pupils at Ridgeway Secondary School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Ridgeway Secondary School had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.6% 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, 16.4% of pupils at Ridgeway Secondary School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.6% 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 Ridgeway Secondary School received £9,427 and spent £10,365 for each of its 338 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £45,000 (£132 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Shires Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,740 and spending £7,633 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 Redditch · Worcestershire local authority: places and applications

Ridgeway Secondary School is part of Shires Multi Academy Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Astwood Bank Primary School Redditch
• Feckenham CofE Primary School Redditch
• Crabbs Cross Academy Redditch
• Studley High School Studley
• The Vaynor First School Redditch
• St Luke's CofE First School Redditch
• Webheath Academy Primary School Redditch
• St George's CofE First School and Nursery Redditch
• Beoley First School Redditch
• North Bromsgrove High School Bromsgrove

What is Ridgeway Secondary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ridgeway Secondary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Ridgeway Secondary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ridgeway Secondary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Ridgeway Secondary School have?

Ridgeway Secondary School has 432 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ridgeway Secondary School cover?

Ridgeway Secondary School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Ridgeway Secondary School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.9, and 51% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ridgeway Secondary School?

Ridgeway Secondary School is at Evesham Road, Redditch, B96 6BD.