Samuel Ryder Academy

St Albans · AL1 5AR

General information All-through School · 4-19 years Who goes here 1577 pupils, 19.8% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13.6% on SEN support Behaviour 6.9% absence rate Staff 17% turnover Financials £7,071 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Samuel Ryder Academy

General Information

Address: Drakes Drive, St Albans, AL1 5AR – View on map
Phone: 01727859382
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Kyle Barry
Age range: 4-19 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 140 families put it first for 140 places – 10 for every 10 places. 77% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 11 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 63 families put it first for 60 places – 11 for every 10 places. 87% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 9 · 2025 8 · 2026 11
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1577 pupils out of 1520 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 280
% eligible for free school meals: 19.8%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the St Albans average)
English as an additional language: 15% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 17% a year (St Albans 13.2%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 44% moved to another school, 56% 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 Hertfordshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 141 (1.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 212 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 86 (0.9 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 Hertfordshire (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: 6.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 21.2%
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: 13.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 54 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 46 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 37 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 28 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 16 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 16 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 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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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card April 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Strong standard
Sixth form (post-16) Expected standard
Leadership and governance Strong standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2022). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

SecondaryGCSE results, Year 11

Attainment 8 score: 56.5
Compared with the area: in line with the St Albans average (57.4)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+6.3 points against an expected 50.2)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 82% (St Albans 81%, 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 schoolSt Albans averageEngland↗ Improving Up 4.9 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was in line with the St Albans average (57.4).

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.

8th of 13 all-through schools in St Albans for Attainment 8

#6St Albans Girls' School58.8
#7Loreto College58.3
#8Samuel Ryder Academy56.5
#9Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School56.4
#10Katherine Warington School54.8

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Sandringham School65.1
#2St George's School63.7
#3Sir John Lawes School62.8
#4Beaumont School62.6
#5Roundwood Park School59.5
#6St Albans Girls' School58.8
#7Loreto College58.3
#8Samuel Ryder Academy56.5
#9Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School56.4
#10Katherine Warington School54.8
#11Verulam School52.5
#12Townsend Church of England School46.7
#13The Marlborough Science Academy43.4

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 94.0%
Went into further education: 92.0%
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
Science Double Award
History
Business Studies
Spanish
Media Studies
Geography
Art & Design
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
D & T
Sports Studies
Religious Studies
Computer Science
French Language
Speech & Drama
Food Technology
Dance: General
Music Studies (General)
Chinese
Greek
Russian

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.

PrimaryYear 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 80% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 20% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 4 percentage points above the St Albans average (76%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 76% against an expected 68%)
3-year average (expected standard): 76%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 93% · Writing 82% · Maths 95% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 90%
Average test scores: reading 110, maths 110
Based on: 60 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

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

SATs results over time

This schoolSt Albans averageEngland↗ Improving Up 7 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 4 percentage points above the St Albans average (76%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 15th of 42 junior and primary schools in the area

=13St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans81%
=15High Beeches Primary School80%
=15Samuel Ryder Academy80%
=15St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary School80%
=15Wood End School80%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Maple Primary School93%
=2Manland Primary School91%
=2St Nicholas CofE VA Primary School91%
=4Cunningham Hill Junior School87%
=4Prae Wood Primary School87%
=4Skyswood Primary & Nursery School87%
=4The Abbey Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans87%
=4Wheatfields Junior Mixed School87%
#9Crabtree Junior School86%
#10London Colney Primary & Nursery School85%
#11Saint Bernadette Voluntary Catholic Primary Academy83%
#12The Grove Junior School82%
=13Harpenden Academy81%
=13St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans81%
=15High Beeches Primary School80%
=15Samuel Ryder Academy80%
=15St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary School80%
=15Wood End School80%
=19Bernards Heath Junior School78%
=19Fleetville Junior School78%
=19Killigrew Primary and Nursery School78%
#22Alban City School77%
#23Mandeville Primary School75%
#24Oakwood Primary School74%
#25St Peter's School73%
=26Camp Primary and Nursery School71%
=26St Helen's Church of England Primary School71%
#28The Lea Primary School and Nursery70%
=29Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School69%
=29Roundwood Primary School69%
#31St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy68%
=32Park Street Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School67%
=32Redbourn Primary School67%
#34Aboyne Lodge Junior Mixed and Infant School66%
#35How Wood Primary and Nursery School62%
#36Margaret Wix Primary School61%
#37Sauncey Wood Primary School59%
=38Mount Pleasant Lane Primary School53%
=38Sandridge School53%
#40Beech Hyde Primary School and Nursery50%
#41Windermere Primary School48%
#42Bowmansgreen Primary School41%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,071 (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.

13th of 13 all-through schools in St Albans for spending per pupil

#11Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School£7,285
#12Sir John Lawes School£7,262
#13Samuel Ryder Academy£7,071

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

#1St George's School£10,016
#2Townsend Church of England School£9,590
#3Katherine Warington School£8,702
#4Sandringham School£8,057
#5Verulam School£8,019
#6Roundwood Park School£7,966
#7The Marlborough Science Academy£7,924
#8Loreto College£7,789
#9St Albans Girls' School£7,509
#10Beaumont School£7,459
#11Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School£7,285
#12Sir John Lawes School£7,262
#13Samuel Ryder Academy£7,071

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 Hertfordshire: 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 ?

Year 6 SATs ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered