Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy

Lancaster · LA1 4RS

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1755 pupils, 11.1% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Outstanding

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 15.3% on SEN support Behaviour 7.4% absence rate Staff 11.9% turnover Financials £7,209 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy

General Information

Address: Ashton Road, Lancaster, LA1 4RS – View on map
Phone: 0152464496
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Helen Best and Ms Alexia Barnes
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 353 families put it first for 289 places – 12 for every 10 places. 78% of them were offered a place. 1 of the 289 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 13 · 2024 13 · 2025 12 · 2026 12
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1755 pupils out of 1754 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 159
% eligible for free school meals: 11.1%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Lancaster average)
English as an additional language: 8% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 11.9% a year (Lancaster 12.8%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 32% moved to another school, 68% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 88 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 8
Suspensions for bullying: 163 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 76 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Lancashire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 19.3%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 15.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 139 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 46 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 28 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 16 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 9 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 14 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 8 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Outstanding 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 50.7
Compared with the area: in line with the Lancaster average (50.0)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (+0.5 points against an expected 50.2)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 79% (Lancaster 70%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolLancaster averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Lancaster average (50.0).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

3rd of 8 secondary schools in Lancaster for Attainment 8

#1Lancaster Royal Grammar School74.1
#2Lancaster Girls' Grammar School73.4
#3Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy50.7
#4Our Lady's Catholic College41.3
#5Carnforth High School39.8

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Lancaster Royal Grammar School74.1
#2Lancaster Girls' Grammar School73.4
#3Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy50.7
#4Our Lady's Catholic College41.3
#5Carnforth High School39.8
#6Bay Leadership Academy36.8
#7Morecambe Bay Academy36.8
#8Lancaster High School35.6

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 96.0%
Went into further education: 85.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Religious Studies
Science Double Award
History
Business Studies
Geography
Sports Studies
French Language
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Art & Design
Spanish
Food Technology
D & T
Music Studies (General)
Computer Science
Speech & Drama
Polish
Psychology (General)
German

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

1st of 7 secondary schools in Lancaster for Ofsted rating

#1Ripley St Thomas Church of England AcademyOutstanding
#2Bay Leadership AcademyGood
#3Lancaster Girls' Grammar SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Ripley St Thomas Church of England AcademyOutstanding
#2Bay Leadership AcademyGood
#3Lancaster Girls' Grammar SchoolGood
#4Lancaster High SchoolGood
#5Lancaster Royal Grammar SchoolGood
#6Morecambe Bay AcademyGood
#7Our Lady's Catholic CollegeRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,209 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

7th of 8 secondary schools in Lancaster for spending per pupil

#5Morecambe Bay Academy£8,018
#6Carnforth High School£7,946
#7Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy£7,209
#8Lancaster Girls' Grammar School£7,190

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Lancaster High School£11,209
#2Lancaster Royal Grammar School£9,398
#3Bay Leadership Academy£8,852
#4Our Lady's Catholic College£8,849
#5Morecambe Bay Academy£8,018
#6Carnforth High School£7,946
#7Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy£7,209
#8Lancaster Girls' Grammar School£7,190

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered