River Academy - The School Companion

River Academy

Reading · RG1 8EQ

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 373 pupils, 33.2% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 20.9% on SEN support Behaviour 5.1% absence rate Staff 8.2% turnover Financials £11,226 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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River Academy

General Information

Address: 7 Richfield Avenue, Reading, RG1 8EQ – View on map
Phone: 01182160400
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Andrew Hartley
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

373 pupils out of 1200 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 124
% eligible for free school meals: 33.2%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (more mixed than the Reading average)
English as an additional language: 37% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 8.2% a year (Reading 17.2%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 100% moved to another school, 0% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (one year, 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

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 Reading: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 7 (0.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 33 (3.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.3 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 Reading, 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: 5.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 9.9%
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: 20.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 8.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 21 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 21 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 16 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 11 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 7 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Moderate learning difficulty: 12 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil

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

An Ofsted rating for this school hasn't been added yet.

An Attainment 8 score for this school hasn't been added yet.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £11,226 (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.

1st of 10 secondary schools in Reading for spending per pupil

#1River Academy£11,226
#2Reading School£10,541
#3UTC Reading£9,587

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

#1River Academy£11,226
#2Reading School£10,541
#3UTC Reading£9,587
#4The WREN School£7,968
#5Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School£7,810
#6King's Academy Prospect£7,598
#7Maiden Erlegh School in Reading£7,413
#8Kendrick School£7,093
#9Reading Girls' School£7,017
#10Hartland High School£5,294

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

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