The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College
Inverary Road, Wroughton, Swindon, SN4 9DJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION
- Principal
- Mr Adrian Cush
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The White Horse Federation
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- East Wiltshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,450
- Pupils on roll
- 1,616
- URN
- 137160
- Local authority
- Swindon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01793846100
About this school
The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College is a secondary academy in Swindon. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,616 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College, 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
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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 302 | 264 | 270 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.0 | 53.0 | 53.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.22 +0.06 to +0.38 | +0.18 +0.01 to +0.35 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 57% | 62.5% | 61.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 76.1% | 77.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 18% | 17.4% | 76.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 4.6 | 5.1 |
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 The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Swindon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52 | 37.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53 | 37.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53.5 | 40 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,600 |
| 2023/24 | 1,603 |
| 2024/25 | 1,573 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College compares
The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College ranked 1st of 14 secondary schools in Swindon for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53.5 | 7.6% | 16.9% | 1,616 | — |
| The Commonweal School | 46.3 | 9.5% | 18.8% | 1,442 | 1.4 miles |
| The Deanery CofE Academy | 46.6 | 9% | 21.9% | 670 | 1.4 miles |
| Lawn Manor Academy | 37.5 | 9% | 40.4% | 969 | 2.2 miles |
| UTC Swindon | 32.4 | 10.3% | 30.8% | 182 | 2.2 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic College | 38 | 8% | 20.8% | 1,425 | 2.7 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.
Inspection history
- 18 April 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report4 March 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.86%
- English as an additional language
- 12.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.59%
- Persistent absence
- 19.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Commonweal School1.4 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
The Deanery CofE Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
Lawn Manor Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
UTC Swindon2.2 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
St Joseph's Catholic College2.7 miles
Secondary · Swindon
Other schools in Swindon
The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College ranks 1st of the 16 ranked secondary schools in Swindon.
- Abbey Park School Secondary
- Bradon Forest School Secondary
- Great Western Academy Secondary
- Highworth Warneford School Secondary
- Kingsdown School Secondary
- Lawn Manor Academy Secondary
- Lydiard Park Academy Secondary
- Nova Hreod Academy Secondary
- Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Secondary
- St Joseph's Catholic College Secondary
- The Commonweal School Secondary
- The Deanery CofE Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College teach?
- The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Swindon.
- Who is the principal of The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College?
- The principal of The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College is Mr Adrian Cush, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College, 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 The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College?
- The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College has 1,616 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College full?
- The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College has capacity for 1,450 pupils and 1,616 on roll (111%), 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 The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College a faith school?
- No. The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College has no designated religious character.
- Is The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College a selective school?
- No. The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College part of an academy trust?
- The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College is part of THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College have?
- The schools register lists The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 52 in 2022/23 and 53.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College compare with other schools in Swindon?
- The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College ranked 1st of 14 secondary schools in Swindon for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College's absence rate?
- The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College'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.