Ludlow Church of England School Review 2026: A faith-led secondary with a clear improvement agenda

As the only secondary school in Ludlow, this is the place most local families will consider first, and it carries the responsibility that comes with that role. The school’s Church of England character shows up less as formality and more as a values-driven approach to daily life, with “Excellence Together” used as a practical organising idea rather than a slogan.

The most recent inspection evidence sets an honest context. In May 2025, the key judgements were Requires improvement across all inspected areas, with safeguarding confirmed as effective. Since then, families should expect a school focused on tightening routines, rebuilding consistency, and improving outcomes, while keeping broad curriculum and extracurricular opportunities in place.

The school’s Christian vision is framed around unity and shared purpose, drawing on 1 Corinthians 1:10 and a set of core values: Excellence, Resilience and Care. In practice, this shapes the tone of expectations, how staff talk about personal development, and how the community thinks about belonging.

Leadership is a key part of the current story. Mr Michael Stoppard is named as Headteacher on the school’s published staff information, and the May 2025 Ofsted report records that the interim headteacher took up post in March 2025. The inspection evidence also points to a period of turbulence before that point, and to trust-level action intended to stabilise standards and relationships.

Day-to-day behaviour is described as generally calm and courteous, with sensible movement around the site and pupils reporting that they feel safe. The same evidence also flags that low-level disruption affected some lessons, particularly where staffing was temporary, and that a proportion of pupils had become disengaged. This matters for parents because it suggests a school where the overall climate is not chaotic, but where consistency across classrooms is still work in progress.

The Church school dimension is not presented as exclusive. The vision explicitly references embracing those “of all faiths and none”, and the SIAMS evidence emphasises inclusive collective worship and a strong emphasis on pastoral care and belonging. Families who value a clearly faith-informed ethos, without requiring personal adherence as a condition of feeling included, are likely to recognise themselves in that framing.

The headline performance indicators here suggest that outcomes have lagged behind where the school, and local families, would want them to be. In 2024, the school’s Attainment 8 score was 41.4, and Progress 8 was -0.47, which indicates students made less progress than similar pupils nationally from their starting points.

The EBacc picture is also challenging. The average EBacc APS score is 3.5, and 7.3% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc subjects measure listed in the data. (It is worth noting that EBacc entry rates and patterns can be strongly shaped by a school’s curriculum decisions and options model, so parents should read this alongside the curriculum section below, not as a standalone verdict.)

FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking places the school at 2,900th in England for GCSE outcomes, and 1st in the Ludlow local area for this measure (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). With a position in the lower tier nationally, results sit below England average.

For parents comparing alternatives, this is the point where the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool can be genuinely useful, because it lets you set these measures alongside nearby schools and see whether the gap is marginal or substantial across multiple indicators, not just one headline. The implication is practical: if your child needs a very predictable, high-consistency academic environment, it is sensible to do a deeper comparison and then use visits to test how far the improvement work has embedded.

The published curriculum model is structured and transparent. The school describes a timetable of 50 one-hour lessons each fortnight, and it sets out how curriculum time is distributed across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. That clarity is helpful for families who want to understand, in concrete terms, how much teaching time is allocated to languages, humanities, arts, and physical education.

Subject-level information also gives a window into classroom experience. English is described as covering modern novels, non-fiction, 19th-century prose, drama, poetry, and Shakespeare across Key Stage 3, alongside small-group intervention for students who need additional support. Performing Arts materials reference specific texts and approaches, including study of DNA by Dennis Kelly and an emphasis on understanding social and historical context in drama. Humanities outlines a mixture of disciplinary knowledge and contemporary breadth, including topics such as the Industrial Revolution and aspects of US history, alongside religious education topics spanning Christianity and other faiths and worldviews.

Inspection evidence is consistent with a school where curriculum intent is broad and ambitious, and where there are pockets of strong practice, but where implementation has not been reliably strong enough to secure outcomes. Reading is explicitly identified as an area needing greater attention and more effective support for weaker readers. For families, the key implication is that students who already read fluently and learn independently may find the breadth of curriculum a positive, while students with weaker literacy may need a clearer plan of support and regular checking that interventions are working.

Because this is an 11 to 16 school, the main “next step” is post-16 choice rather than sixth form pathways inside the same institution. The most reliable, parent-facing approach is therefore to focus on readiness, guidance, and the mechanics of transition.

Inspection evidence indicates that careers and personal development provision was being reshaped and strengthened, and that work experience was not in place at the time of the May 2025 inspection. That is not unusual for 11 to 16 schools in a period of change, but it is a useful prompt for parents of Year 9 and Year 10 students: ask directly how guidance is delivered now, which local colleges and providers are most common destinations, and how the school supports applications, interviews, and course choices.

There are also positive signals around wider opportunity as part of preparation for post-16 life. The May 2025 inspection evidence references after-school clubs and leadership opportunities through physical education, and also records that the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was being reintroduced. For some students, these structured responsibilities are a meaningful part of building confidence and independence before leaving at 16.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Admissions for the normal Year 7 intake operate through the local authority’s coordinated process, with national timings applying for September entry.

For September 2026 entry, the Diocese of Hereford Multi Academy Trust publishes a timetable stating that the secondary application facility is available from 01 September, the national closing date is 31 October 2025, and offers are released on 03 March 2026. Shropshire Council also publishes open evening information; for Ludlow, the listed open evening date is 24 September 2025, 5.30pm to 7.30pm, with the usual caution that times and arrangements can change and parents should check before attending.

The admissions policy information indicates that the school follows Shropshire Council guidelines, and also references in-year admissions being coordinated at school level in line with the admissions code. If you are moving into the area mid-year, ask about current year-group capacity, how waiting lists are managed, and what information the school needs to process an application efficiently.

If proximity is likely to matter for your application, it is sensible to use FindMySchoolMap Search to understand travel time and practical distance, then treat that as a starting point rather than a promise of admission.

Pastoral structures are closely tied to the school’s faith-informed emphasis on care and belonging. The SIAMS evidence describes a strong sense of cohesion, inclusive collective worship, and an emphasis on supporting wellbeing, including early intervention.

From a safeguarding perspective, the May 2025 inspection confirms that safeguarding arrangements were effective, which is foundational for family confidence during any improvement period. The same evidence also highlights a need for leaders to have better access to safeguarding analysis so that patterns and trends can be identified more readily.

For parents, the practical takeaway is to look for consistency: how tutors monitor day-to-day issues, how concerns are escalated, what communication looks like when behaviour incidents occur, and how the school supports students who are anxious, disengaged, or struggling with attendance and routines.

The published extracurricular programme includes a mixture of academic support, sports, arts, and student-led roles. In Spring Term 2025 to 2026, examples listed include Homework Club (with sessions running until 5.00pm on some days), Science Club for Year 7, Languages Leaders for Year 9, and targeted revision such as a GCSE Food revision session for Year 11.

Creative opportunities appear clearly in the same programme, with activities linked to productions such as Matilda, including rehearsals and a set design club. For students who need a reason to feel connected to school beyond lessons, these are often the “hook” that improves attendance, confidence, and friendships.

Sport is prominent, with football, rugby, netball, tennis, basketball, and a partnership activity listed as Shrewsbury Town Football. There is also a paid junior gym option delivered via the local leisure centre, with the cost and payment method explicitly stated, which is useful transparency for families budgeting for enrichment.

A final distinctive detail from the faith inspection evidence is the school garden activity used as a mini-enterprise, with pupils turning produce into soup. That sort of applied project work can be especially valuable for students who learn best through doing, and it also supports the school’s wider aims around character and contribution.

The published school day starts with a warning bell at 8.50am, tutor time begins at 8.55am, and the day ends with tutor time finishing at 3.25pm. Families should plan around those timings for transport and after-school commitments.

Term date information is signposted via the school’s term dates page and calendar, and families should treat school-set training days as important planning points because they can differ from local authority defaults for academies.

• Requires improvement judgements. The May 2025 inspection recorded Requires improvement for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. Families should ask what has changed since then and what evidence is available that classroom consistency has improved.

• Progress measures are a concern. A Progress 8 score of -0.47 indicates below-average progress from students’ starting points. For high-attaining or highly motivated learners, ask how stretching and extension are delivered across subjects.

• Reading support needs to be clear. Inspection evidence identifies insufficient attention to reading and weaker readers not receiving effective support. If literacy is a vulnerability for your child, ask what the current reading strategy looks like, how it is resourced, and how impact is measured.

• Church school expectations include religious education priorities. The March 2025 SIAMS report identifies development work needed to strengthen religious education curriculum time and profile. Families strongly committed to faith education, or those cautious about it, should explore how RE and collective worship operate in practice.

Ludlow Church of England School is a broad-curriculum, community-facing secondary with a clearly stated values framework and a wide set of opportunities beyond lessons. The current context is one of improvement, with inspection evidence from 2025 highlighting inconsistency and outcomes that need strengthening, alongside safeguarding confidence and a purposeful reset under interim leadership.

Who it suits: families in and around Ludlow who want a local 11 to 16 school with a Church of England ethos, a structured day, and accessible extracurricular options, and who are prepared to engage actively with the school on learning support, behaviour consistency, and post-16 guidance.