Ridgeway Secondary School Review 2026: A small 11 to 16 school with a sharply improved behaviour and culture picture

A state-funded secondary in Church Hill, Redditch, Ridgeway positions itself as “small school, big experience”, and the latest official evidence broadly supports the idea of a tight, well-structured setting with clear routines. The current head teacher, Mr Matt Ball, took up the permanent headship in September 2023, after joining the school as deputy head in 2019.

The most recent Ofsted inspection (7 and 8 May 2025, published 18 June 2025) judged Behaviour and attitudes, Personal development, and Leadership and management as Outstanding, with Quality of education graded Good. For families, that combination usually signals a school where expectations and pastoral systems are working, and where teaching quality is strengthening within an established framework.

Ridgeway is oversubscribed on the most recent published admissions snapshot, with 146 applications for 104 offers, which is about 1.4 applications per place. Competition is present, although it is not in the “impossible to access” bracket.

Ridgeway’s identity is closely tied to routines, recognition, and personal development structures. The school’s internal language includes “VIP of the lesson” recognition and a whole-school personal development framework called the Ridgeway 360 Award, alongside a house system named Attenborough, Franklin, and Owen. The practical implication is that students who respond well to explicit expectations, visible rewards, and structured roles often settle quickly.

The latest Ofsted evidence describes calm corridors, rare disruption, and students who know what is expected of them. That matters because school improvement is not only about outcomes; it starts with day-to-day behaviour, attendance, and classroom attention. Ridgeway’s recent narrative is also explicitly one of change since joining Shires Multi-Academy Trust in 2022, with rapid improvements in culture and consistency.

It is also worth understanding the context. An earlier Ofsted report (published in 2021) described low expectations, inconsistent behaviour management, and a weakly planned curriculum in many subjects. For parents, the “fit” question is whether the more recent culture is now embedded enough to feel stable year on year. The 2025 inspection language suggests it is, but families should still use open events and conversations with staff to test how consistent that experience is across subjects and year groups.

For GCSE performance, Ridgeway’s most useful headline is the FindMySchool GCSE ranking and its progress measure.

Ranked 2646th in England and 2nd in Redditch for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data)

This places the school broadly in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile) for GCSE outcomes.

On attainment, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 44.4. The Progress 8 score is +0.43, which indicates students, on average, make above-average progress from their starting points.

A practical way to use this information is comparative. If you are weighing Ridgeway against nearby options, FindMySchool’s Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help you line up Progress 8, Attainment 8, and admissions pressure side by side in a single view, rather than trying to stitch together multiple sources.

Ridgeway describes its teaching as structured and evidence-informed, with a consistent school-wide framework. The teaching pages reference research associated with explicit instruction and carefully sequenced curricula, and the Ofsted report supports the idea of an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum delivered by staff using strong subject expertise.

The key development point in the most recent inspection is precision checking: in some lessons, pupils move on before knowledge is secure, which can allow misconceptions to persist. For families, this often shows up as variation between departments, strong teaching in many areas, and a smaller number where assessment for learning is less consistent. It is an appropriate question to ask on a visit: how does the school ensure students have understood before content moves on, and how is that monitored?

Ridgeway does not have a sixth form, so all students move on at 16. The school’s stated careers education begins in Year 7 and becomes more intensive from Year 8 onwards, including employer encounters and visits to colleges, apprenticeship providers, and universities.

For families, the practical implication is that post-16 choice is central. If your child is likely to pursue A-levels, you will want to look early at local sixth forms and colleges, and understand travel time and subject availability. If an apprenticeship route is likely, Ridgeway’s emphasis on provider encounters and employer engagement is a useful foundation.

Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated through Worcestershire County Council. For September 2026 entry, applications open on 1 September 2025 and close on 31 October 2025, with offers issued on 2 March 2026.

The school is oversubscribed on the most recent admissions snapshot, with 146 applications for 104 offers, which is about 1.4 applications per place. That level of pressure typically means you should not assume a place is automatic, particularly if you are applying from outside the most local area.

Where catchment, distance, or criteria are decisive, it is sensible to check your position early. FindMySchool’s Map Search is designed for exactly this, because small changes in address can matter once a school is oversubscribed.

Ridgeway also signals openness to tours and “welcome mornings” for families considering secondary places, suggesting that visits are actively encouraged. Where dates shown on websites relate to past months, families should treat them as an indicative pattern and check the current schedule directly.

The inspection evidence points to a strong safeguarding and wellbeing picture. Inspectors confirmed safeguarding arrangements are effective. More broadly, the same report describes students feeling safe, staff knowing pupils as individuals, and a personal development programme where every pupil takes on responsibility through roles such as ambassadors, fundraisers, or mentors.

The implication is a school that places tangible weight on belonging and participation, not only classroom performance. For students who benefit from predictable routines, adult availability, and explicit expectations around conduct, this can be an advantage. For students who are highly self-directed and prefer looser structures, the same approach can feel more managed.

Ridgeway’s extracurricular offer is framed through its Ridgeway 360 programme and the wider “Ridgeway Promise” approach to trips and experiences. The published extracurricular overview mentions clubs spanning music, chess, art, reading, and STEM, with additional sports activities and curriculum-linked trips.

The school’s wider enrichment is also expressed through its house system, Attenborough, Franklin, and Owen, which commonly underpins competitions, leadership opportunities, and collective identity. Recent curriculum-linked experiences include a Year 9 visit to RAF Cosford connected to Cold War history learning.

A note of caution: Ridgeway publishes category pages for enrichment that reference termly club lists, but parents should still confirm the current timetable for their child’s year group, because club line-ups often change by season and staffing.

The published school day begins at 8:30 with tutor time and ends after Period 5 at 15:05.

For travel, most families will typically be looking at a combination of school transport arrangements, bus routes, and rail into Redditch for those commuting from further out. Worcestershire publishes school travel timetable information for services linked to Ridgeway, which is the most reliable place to check current routing and effective dates.

• Improvement trajectory needs confidence-testing. The May 2025 inspection profile is strong, but the school has a recent history of weaker performance in culture and curriculum planning. Families should use visits to test consistency across subjects and year groups.

• Oversubscription means planning matters. With 146 applications for 104 offers on the latest snapshot, timing, criteria, and realistic preferences matter.

• Post-16 is a separate decision. With no sixth form, you are choosing an 11 to 16 experience and will need a clear plan for 16 plus pathways.

Ridgeway Secondary School currently presents as a school that has tightened routines, improved behaviour and attendance, and built a credible personal development framework, with teaching quality judged Good at the latest inspection. It suits students who benefit from clear expectations, visible recognition, and structured opportunities to take responsibility. The main challenge is admission pressure combined with the need to feel confident that improvements are consistent across departments, which makes visiting and asking detailed questions particularly important.