The Ripley Academy Review 2026: A structured 11–18 academy with a clear “Ripley Way” culture

A two week timetable, an explicit behaviour and conduct framework, and a sixth form positioned as the bridge between school routines and adult study habits, these are the building blocks that define The Ripley Academy. The academy sits in Ripley, Derbyshire, and operates as part of East Midlands Education Trust.

Leadership is set up in a dual model, with Mrs Helen Frost-Briggs as Executive Headteacher (appointed to take up post from September 2022) and Mr J. de Rijk as Head of School overseeing day-to-day delivery.

The latest Ofsted inspection was an ungraded visit in February 2025; safeguarding was found to be effective, and the report describes a sense of renewed optimism and pride.

The academy’s public language is unusually consistent across pages and documents. The Ripley Way, framed around ambition, commitment and pride, is used as a reference point for expectations, rewards, and student voice rather than a slogan that only appears in prospectus copy.

A practical indicator of structure is the way time is organised. The academy runs a two week, 50 period timetable; the day starts at 8.40am with tutor time and finishes at 3.10pm, with a morning break and a lunch break, plus built in movement time between specific lessons. For families, that usually translates into clearer routines, fewer surprises, and a predictable rhythm that can help students who benefit from consistent boundaries.

The trust context matters. The academy opened as an academy converter on 1 September 2014, and it has been part of East Midlands Education Trust since its formation period. In practice, this tends to mean policies, safeguarding practice, and governance structures are shaped at trust level, with local leadership focused on the daily running and improvement priorities.

This is a state school, so the focus is rightly on outcomes and progress rather than fees. At GCSE, the academy’s attainment data points to performance that is broadly in line with the middle of England schools, with some indicators that require careful interpretation for individual students.

A headline benchmark from the dataset is the FindMySchool GCSE ranking. Ranked 2,388th in England and 2nd in Ripley for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), performance sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

The attainment picture includes an Attainment 8 score of 44.8. Progress 8 is -0.21, which indicates students, on average, made below average progress from their starting points across eight subjects compared with similar pupils nationally. EBacc average point score is 3.91. (All figures are from the dataset used for FindMySchool rankings and benchmarking.)

In sixth form, the dataset suggests the academy’s A level outcomes sit below England averages. Ranked 2,244th in England and 1st in Ripley for A level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), the position reflects a below average national profile alongside a comparatively stronger standing within the immediate local area.

Grade distribution shows 1.68% at A*, 7.56% at A, and 26.89% at A*–B. The England average for A*–B is 47.2%, so the gap is significant. For families, that does not automatically rule the sixth form out, but it does suggest that students aiming for the most selective pathways should scrutinise subject level performance, teaching stability, and entry requirements for individual courses.

The academy presents its curriculum as intentionally sequenced and time-tabled, with subject pages and curriculum resources published in a way that lets families understand what is taught, and in what order. A useful example is the “School Experience” offer, which links learning to enrichment and wider reading rather than treating trips and competitions as add-ons.

English is a good illustration of the academy’s approach to making learning visible. The School Experience page lists theatre trips to Derby and Nottingham linked to specific texts such as A Christmas Carol, Macbeth and Holes, alongside literacy themed events like World Book Day, Storytelling Week and a Classical Reading Club. The implication is simple: reading culture is built through repeated shared touchpoints, not only through homework.

Mathematics enrichment is also defined in concrete terms. Students are signposted towards UKMT style challenges (Senior Maths Challenge, Junior Maths Challenge, Intermediate Maths Challenge) and an EMET Team Maths Challenge. For students who enjoy competitive problem solving, that provides an additional track beyond classroom assessment, and it can be a confidence builder for those who like measurable goals.

The academy’s sixth form outcomes, as recorded in the 2023/24 leavers destinations dataset, show a mixed set of routes rather than a single dominant pathway. In the 2023/24 cohort, 34% progressed to university, 18% started apprenticeships, 24% entered employment, and 4% went to further education. This spread suggests the sixth form is used by students with different end points, including those aiming to earn while learning.

Alongside those overall routes, the academy also publishes examples of higher education destinations by name. Its published 2023 university destinations list includes Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Lancaster, Sheffield Hallam, Nottingham Trent, Manchester Metropolitan, Derby, and Northampton, among others. There are no published counts attached to each destination, so these should be read as illustrative rather than representative of the whole cohort.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through Derbyshire’s normal admissions route, using a Common Application Form process rather than direct application to the academy. The academy describes a defined “normal area” based on linked primary schools, and the admissions policy explains that distance is measured as a straight line home to school using the local authority’s geographic information system for normal year entry applications.

For September 2026 entry, the published closing date in the academy’s admissions policy is 31 October 2025, with offers allocated on 1 March 2026. These dates align with the national pattern for secondary coordinated admissions.

Demand, as captured used for this review, indicates competitive entry. In the most recent published cycle there were 230 applications for 156 offers, a subscription ratio of 1.47 applications per place, and the academy is recorded as oversubscribed. With demand above supply, families should treat catchment, sibling rules, and distance measurement details as critical, and use tools like FindMySchool’s Map Search to verify their likely position against the academy’s criteria.

Open events are visible on the academy site. A Year 5 and Year 6 open evening is listed as taking place on Thursday 25 September, starting at 5.30pm in The Suite. Dates can shift year to year, so families should rely on the academy’s calendar and admissions pages for the current cycle.

Transition support is described in a way that suggests the academy invests in early relationship building. The transition programme includes two full days in the summer term plus a parent and student evening, with enhanced transition arrangements described for students with special educational needs, coordinated through the academy’s inclusion leadership.

Pastoral systems at the academy are designed to be highly legible to students and parents. The senior team structure includes explicit leadership responsibility for safeguarding, behaviour and standards, as well as a designated inclusion and intervention role. That division of responsibility usually helps schools act quickly when patterns emerge, because ownership is clear.

SEND support is documented in detail in the academy’s SEND information reports, including structured interventions, targeted social skills support, and specific offers such as nurture breakfast club, break and lunch club, and access to sensory spaces when appropriate. For families, the practical question is consistency across classrooms, and how quickly staff adapt when needs change.

Ofsted’s February 2025 report also flagged that, at times, the needs of pupils with SEND are not always met as well as they should be, and asked leaders to strengthen this consistency.

The academy does not rely on generic claims about enrichment; it lists named activities and competitions in ways that help families judge fit. If a student thrives on structured challenges, the combination of Maths Challenge routes and writing competitions gives a straightforward route to stretch. The Saga Writing Competition and Synonym Stretchers activities sit alongside commemorative and civic themed events such as Holocaust Memorial Day and Abolition of Slavery Day, which indicates a planned approach to wider learning beyond subject specs.

Sports provision includes both competitive pathways and participation clubs. A clear example is the basketball club, documented as a weekly Wednesday session after school in the autumn term, with a formal consent process. While that is only one club, it signals the academy’s tendency to organise extracurricular in a structured, accountable way rather than leaving it informal.

Music and performance also feature as an offer with identifiable components. The academy’s music development plan refers to visiting instrumental teachers offering lessons across instruments including piano, guitar, violin, flute, clarinet, and saxophone, with loan instruments available for some pupils. For students who do not have access to instruments at home, that matters, because it reduces the barrier to sustained participation.

The school day runs from 8.40am to 3.10pm, with tutor time at the start, a morning break, and a lunch break; the timetable is structured to total 32.5 hours per week, reflecting the national minimum expectation.

The academy publishes a calendar for major year group dates such as parents evenings and exam windows, which is worth checking early each term when planning work and childcare commitments.

Ripley is a town setting rather than a city centre campus. For most families, journeys are likely to be a mix of walking, car drop off, and local public transport; the best practical step is to trial the route at school start time, because congestion patterns can be different from mid-day travel.

• Competition for Year 7 places. The latest admissions demand snapshot used for this review shows 230 applications for 156 offers, indicating oversubscription. Families should read the admissions policy carefully, and confirm how distance and linked primary arrangements apply to their household.

• Progress measures are below average. A Progress 8 score of -0.21 indicates below average progress across eight subjects compared with similar pupils nationally. This makes it especially important to look at subject fit, support, and how quickly gaps are identified and addressed.

• Sixth form outcomes trail England averages. The dataset shows 26.89% of grades at A*–B, below the England average of 47.2%. For students targeting competitive courses, families should ask about subject level outcomes and how entry requirements are applied in practice.

• SEND consistency is a live improvement priority. The February 2025 inspection report highlights that some pupils with SEND do not always have needs met as well as they should. Families of students with additional needs should ask detailed questions about classroom practice, not only intervention lists.

The Ripley Academy reads as a school that values structure and clarity, with a deliberate culture framework and an unusually specific approach to enrichment. GCSE performance sits around the middle of England schools in the FindMySchool benchmark set, while sixth form outcomes appear weaker than England averages. Best suited to students who benefit from clear routines and expectations, and to families who want an 11–18 school that supports multiple post-16 pathways including employment and apprenticeships, as well as university. For sixth form specialists and highly selective university ambitions, careful subject level due diligence is essential.