Ridgeway Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Hertfordshire
Herns Lane, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 2AF
54
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Not judged
Graded 03/06/2025
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
88.5%
30.1% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
875
Capacity used
Has space72%
1,220 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
88 of 88 families who put it first got an offer
168
Places offered
246
Total applications
1.5
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 88 | 88 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 79 | 29 | ● 37% |
| 3rd preference | 54 | 8 | ● 15% |
| 4th preference | 25 | 6 | ● 24% |
| Total | 246 | 131 | 53% |
1st preference success by year
Hertfordshire lets families list 4 preferences. 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
11.44 km
Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Not Nearest School"
289 applications · 180 places · 180 offered
| Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After | 2 |
| Medical/Social | 1 |
| Siblings | 37 |
| Children of Staff | 2 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 73 |
| In Priority Area, Not Nearest School | 29 |
| Non ranked allocation | 29 |
September 2025 entry
12.55 km
Furthest child offered under "Outside Priority Area, Distance"
259 applications · 180 places · 180 offered
| Siblings | 43 |
| Children of Staff | 2 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 70 |
| In Priority Area, Not Nearest School | 20 |
| Outside Priority Area, Distance | 1 |
| Non ranked allocation | 37 |
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
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Sarah Mitcherson
- Address
- Herns Lane, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 2AF
- Phone
- 01707351350
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Haldens · Welwyn Hatfield
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 146305
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 34% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 8% | — | — |
| SEN support | 23% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: AMBITION EDUCATION TRUST
875 pupils · 1,220 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 25
03 June 2025
Full graded inspection
Not judged overall effectivenessSixth form Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 865 pupils
Attendance
88.5%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
11.5%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
30.1%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
7.8%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
5.3%
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.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 37.9 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.47 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 27% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 51% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.10 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 29.51 | — | — |
Average grade: C (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 35.7 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 24.8% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 48.4% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 15.7% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.93 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 153 | — |
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 | 27.67 | 35 |
| Average grade | C- | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 0% | 17% |
| A-level students | 34 | — |
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 | 153 | 5% | 33% | 58% | |
| English Language | 152 | 9% | 32% | 55% | |
| English Literature | 140 | 8% | 40% | 59% | |
| Combined Science | 131 | 2% | 19% | 43% | |
| Art and Design | 74 | 16% | 50% | 68% | |
| History | 63 | 8% | 24% | 43% | |
| Business | 41 | 5% | 27% | 39% | |
| Media / Film / TV | 28 | 18% | 50% | 64% | |
| Geography | 27 | 11% | 33% | 63% | |
| Drama | 19 | 11% | 42% | 53% | |
| Biology | 19 | 16% | 74% | 79% | |
| Physics | 16 | 13% | 94% | 100% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History | 16 | 0% | 0% | 6% | |
| Business Studies | 9 | 0% | 11% | 11% | |
| Sociology | 7 | 0% | 14% | 57% | |
| English Literature | 7 | 0% | 0% | 29% | |
| Media / Film / TV Studies | 7 | 0% | 14% | 43% | |
| Photography | 6 | 0% | 33% | 33% | |
| Law | 4 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Biology | 4 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Psychology | 3 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Physics | 2 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Art and Design | 2 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Design and Technology (Product Design) | 2 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
No Cambridge offers this year
UCAS apply centre 20075: Ridgeway Academy
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | 0 |
| 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) | 58% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 2% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 58% | — | — |
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 5 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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.