Ringwood School Academy
Parsonage Barn Lane, Ringwood, BH24 1SE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- RINGWOOD SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mrs Leanne Symonds
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- New Forest West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,591
- Pupils on roll
- 1,592
- URN
- 136657
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01425475000
About this school
Ringwood School Academy is a secondary academy in Ringwood. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,592 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ringwood School Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 November 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 247 | 258 | 256 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.2 | 53.7 | 56.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.22 +0.04 to +0.40 | +0.35 +0.18 to +0.53 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 58.5% | 68% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 82.9% | 84.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 41% | 32.9% | 28.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.8 | 5.0 |
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 Ringwood School Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Hampshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52.2 | 37.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.7 | 37.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 56.2 | 37.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,573 |
| 2023/24 | 1,582 |
| 2024/25 | 1,626 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ringwood School Academy compares
Ringwood School Academy ranked 7th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 89% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56.2 | 7.3% | 18.1% | 1,592 | — |
| Ferndown Upper School | 45.7 | 8.1% | 22.6% | 1,134 | 5.9 miles |
| The Burgate School and Sixth Form | 46.6 | 6.1% | 12.8% | 1,073 | 6.2 miles |
| Bournemouth School for Girls | 72.2 | 5.7% | 6.6% | 1,290 | 7.4 miles |
| The Bishop of Winchester Academy | 49.6 | 10.2% | 23.2% | 1,162 | 7.5 miles |
| The Grange School | 36.3 | 15.7% | 43.9% | 429 | 7.5 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 18.14%
- English as an additional language
- 2.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.33%
- Persistent absence
- 21.43%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ferndown Upper School5.9 miles
Secondary · Ferndown
-
The Burgate School and Sixth Form6.2 miles
Secondary · Fordingbridge
-
Bournemouth School for Girls7.4 miles
Secondary · Bournemouth
-
The Bishop of Winchester Academy7.5 miles
Secondary · Bournemouth
-
The Grange School7.5 miles
Secondary · Christchurch
Other schools in Ringwood
- Burley Primary School Primary
- Poulner Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Poulner Junior School Primary
- Ringwood Church of England Infant School Primary
- Ringwood Junior School Primary
- St Ives Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Sheiling School Special schools
- Moyles Court School Independent schools
- Ringwood Waldorf School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Ringwood School Academy teach?
- Ringwood School Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ringwood.
- Who is the headteacher of Ringwood School Academy?
- The headteacher of Ringwood School Academy is Mrs Leanne Symonds, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ringwood School Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ringwood School Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Ringwood School Academy?
- Ringwood School Academy has 1,592 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ringwood School Academy full?
- Ringwood School Academy has capacity for 1,591 pupils and 1,592 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Ringwood School Academy a faith school?
- No. Ringwood School Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Ringwood School Academy a selective school?
- No. Ringwood School Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Ringwood School Academy part of an academy trust?
- Ringwood School Academy is part of RINGWOOD SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ringwood School Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 52.2 in 2022/23 and 56.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ringwood School Academy compare with other schools in Hampshire?
- Ringwood School Academy ranked 7th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 89% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ringwood School Academy's absence rate?
- Ringwood School Academy's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ringwood School Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ringwood School Academy'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 1 July 2026.