Samuel Ryder Academy
All-through · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Hertfordshire
Drakes Drive, St Albans, AL1 5AR
72
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 29/06/2022
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
93.1%
21.2% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,577
Capacity used
Over capacity104%
1,520 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Primary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
49 of 49 families who put it first got an offer
60
Places offered
135
Total applications
2.3
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 49 | 49 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 25 | 9 | ● 36% |
| 3rd preference | 36 | 2 | ● 6% |
| 4th preference | 25 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 135 | 60 | 44% |
1st preference success by year
Hertfordshire lets families list 4 preferences. 1 applications came from outside the council area (0 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Last distance offered
From Hertfordshire council's allocation report on offer day. It changes every year, so treat it as a guide.
September 2026 entry
4.66 km
Furthest child offered under "Not Nearest School"
158 applications · 60 places · 60 offered
| Siblings | 25 |
| Children of Staff | 1 |
| Nearest School | 1 |
| Not Nearest School | 33 |
September 2025 entry
22.10 km
Furthest child offered under "Not Nearest School"
135 applications · 60 places · 60 offered
| Siblings | 24 |
| Nearest School | 7 |
| Not Nearest School | 29 |
Currently available for Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Enfield schools, from council allocation reports. Distances are straight-line from home to school.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- All-through
- Age range
- 4–19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Kyle Barry
- Address
- Drakes Drive, St Albans, AL1 5AR
- Phone
- 01727859382
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Cunningham · St Albans
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 138582
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 20% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 15% | — | — |
| SEN support | 13% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 2 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST
1,577 pupils · 1,520 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 26
21 April 2026
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Strong standard Achievement Expected standard Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Strong standard Attendance and behaviour Strong standard Leadership and governance Strong standard Early years Strong standard Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard Post-16 provision Expected standard - 22
29 June 2022
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessSixth form Outstanding Early years Good Personal development Outstanding Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Outstanding
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,378 pupils
Attendance
93.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
6.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
21.2%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
1.6%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.6%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
Primary results (Key Stage 2)
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expected standard in reading, writing & maths | 73% | — | — |
| Higher standard | 7% | — | — |
| Reading progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Writing progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Maths progress | — | — | 0.0 |
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 50.4 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.35 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 54% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 73% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 4.32 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 34.17 | — | — |
Average grade: C+ (England B-)
Primary results by subject (SATs)
Year 6 pupils meeting each standard, against England
Reading, writing & maths combined
Reading
Writing
Maths
Grammar, punctuation & spelling
Science
England average · Scaled scores run 80–120 (100 = expected standard).
Primary results over time
Expected standard (RWM) by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Expected standard (RWM) | 80% | 61% |
| Higher standard | 20% | 8% |
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 56.5 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 69.7% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 81.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 40% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.96 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 185 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 35.38 | 35 |
| Average grade | B- | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 9.8% | 17% |
| A-level students | 71 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 185 | 31% | 74% | 85% | |
| English Language | 185 | 30% | 68% | 79% | |
| English Literature | 182 | 30% | 75% | 86% | |
| Combined Science | 134 | 10% | 53% | 72% | |
| History | 91 | 48% | 76% | 87% | |
| Business | 84 | 30% | 75% | 85% | |
| Spanish | 78 | 31% | 53% | 69% | |
| Media / Film / TV | 73 | 33% | 75% | 92% | |
| Geography | 65 | 40% | 66% | 77% | |
| Art and Design | 63 | 27% | 79% | 92% | |
| Biology | 51 | 55% | 94% | 96% | |
| Physics | 49 | 71% | 100% | 100% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 26 | 4% | 27% | 46% | |
| Media / Film / TV Studies | 16 | 0% | 6% | 25% | |
| Sociology | 14 | 0% | 14% | 43% | |
| Business Studies | 13 | 0% | 31% | 69% | |
| Religious Studies | 12 | 0% | 8% | 33% | |
| History | 11 | 0% | 36% | 73% | |
| Design and Technology (Product Design) | 11 | 0% | 18% | 55% | |
| Psychology | 10 | 0% | 40% | 70% | |
| Government and Politics | 10 | 0% | 40% | 60% | |
| English Language | 8 | 0% | 13% | 75% | |
| Geography | 7 | 0% | 0% | 71% | |
| English Literature | 7 | 0% | 14% | 43% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 18989: Samuel Ryder Academy
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | ≤5 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | 0 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 45% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 6% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 51% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 4.7 km — based on the last distance offered, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Hertfordshire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Reception (primary) | 15 January | 16 April (or next working day) |
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.