Ripplevale School
Chapel Lane, Ripple, Deal, CT14 8JG
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Other independent special school
- Ages
- 6 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jane Norris
- Constituency
- Dover and Deal
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 250
- Pupils on roll
- 197
- URN
- 118995
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01304373866
About this school
Ripplevale School is an independent special school in Deal. It teaches children aged 6 to 19 and has 197 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has not yet inspected Ripplevale School under its current framework. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ripplevale School has not been inspected by Ofsted yet. It opened in its current form in October 1970, and new or converted schools usually wait a few years for their first inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 20 | 25 | 28 |
| Attainment 8 score | 11.0 | 13.7 | 12.3 |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 4% | 3.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 15% | 8% | 7.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Ripplevale School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 13.7 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 12.3 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 149 |
| 2023/24 | 175 |
| 2024/25 | 188 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 0%
- Pupils with an EHC plan
- 197
- Pupils on SEN support
- 0
Location
Nearby schools
-
Learning Opportunities Centre Secondary1.1 miles
Special schools · Deal
-
Brewood Secondary School2.0 miles
Special schools · Deal
-
Northbourne Park School3.1 miles
Independent schools · Deal
-
Portal House School3.2 miles
Special schools · Dover
-
Woodpecker Court4.3 miles
Other types · Dover
Other schools in Deal
- Brewood Secondary School Special schools
- Learning Opportunities Centre Secondary Special schools
- Deal Parochial Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hornbeam Primary School Primary
- Kingsdown and Ringwould Church of England Primary School Primary
- Northbourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Sandown School Primary
- Sholden Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School Primary
- The Downs Church of England Primary School Primary
- Warden House Primary School Primary
- Worth Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ripplevale School teach?
- Ripplevale School teaches children aged 6 to 19. It is a special school in Deal.
- Who is the headteacher of Ripplevale School?
- The headteacher of Ripplevale School is Mrs Jane Norris, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ripplevale School been inspected?
- Ofsted has not inspected Ripplevale School under its current framework, so no current judgement is shown. That is common for newer schools and is not a mark against a school.
- How big is Ripplevale School?
- Ripplevale School has 197 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 6 to 19.
- Is Ripplevale School full?
- Ripplevale School has capacity for 250 pupils and 197 on roll (79%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Ripplevale School a faith school?
- No. Ripplevale School has no designated religious character.
- How have Ripplevale School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 11 in 2022/23 and 12.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What are Ripplevale School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ripplevale School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 24 July 2026.