Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy
Ashton Road, Lancaster, LA1 4RS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE BAY LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Helen Best and Ms Alexia Barnes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Sponsor
- The Bay Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Lancaster and Wyre
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,754
- Pupils on roll
- 1,755
- URN
- 136731
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 0152464496
About this school
Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy is a Church of England secondary academy in Lancaster. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,755 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 278 | 273 | 276 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.3 | 53.9 | 50.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.27 +0.10 to +0.43 | +0.60 +0.43 to +0.77 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 60% | 61.5% | 58% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 82% | 82.8% | 79.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 24.2% | 23.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.4 |
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 Ripley St Thomas Church of England 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.3 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.9 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.7 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,696 |
| 2023/24 | 1,676 |
| 2024/25 | 1,733 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy compares
Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy ranked 17th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% 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 | 50.7 | 7.4% | 10.8% | 1,755 | — |
| Lancaster Girls' Grammar School | 73.4 | 5.4% | 6.6% | 1,038 | 0.5 miles |
| Lancaster Royal Grammar School | 74.1 | 6.1% | 8.1% | 1,294 | 0.7 miles |
| Our Lady's Catholic College | 41.3 | 11.6% | 40.6% | 981 | 1.1 miles |
| Lancaster High School | 35.6 | 14.2% | 46.5% | 567 | 1.3 miles |
| Morecambe Bay Academy | 36.8 | 12.6% | 40.6% | 1,045 | 3.2 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)
- 10.83%
- English as an additional language
- 8.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.37%
- Persistent absence
- 19.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lancaster Girls' Grammar School0.5 miles
Secondary · Lancaster
-
Lancaster Royal Grammar School0.7 miles
Secondary · Lancaster
-
Our Lady's Catholic College1.1 miles
Secondary · Lancaster
-
Lancaster High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Lancaster
-
Morecambe Bay Academy3.2 miles
Secondary · Morecambe
Other schools in Lancaster
Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Lancaster.
- Lancaster Girls' Grammar School Secondary
- Lancaster High School Secondary
- Lancaster Royal Grammar School Secondary
- Our Lady's Catholic College Secondary
- Appletree Nursery School Nursery
- Austwick Church of England VA Primary School Primary
- Bentham Community Primary School Primary
- Bowerham Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Castle View Primary Academy Primary
- Caton Primary School Primary
- Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cawthorne's Endowed School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy teach?
- Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Lancaster.
- Who is the principal of Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy?
- The principal of Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy is Mrs Helen Best and Ms Alexia Barnes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ripley St Thomas Church of England 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 Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy?
- Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy has 1,755 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy full?
- Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy has capacity for 1,754 pupils and 1,755 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 Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Is Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy a selective school?
- No. Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy part of an academy trust?
- Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy is part of THE BAY LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.3 in 2022/23 and 50.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy ranked 17th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% 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 Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy's absence rate?
- Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ripley St Thomas Church of England 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.