Ralph Allen School
Claverton Down Road, Combe Down, Bath, BA2 7AD
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- PALLADIAN ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Nathan Jenkins
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Palladian Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Frome and East Somerset
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,300
- Pupils on roll
- 1,398
- URN
- 138522
- Local authority
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01225832936
About this school
Ralph Allen School is a secondary academy in Bath. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,398 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ralph Allen School, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 6 March 2024, 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 | 211 | 208 | 211 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.3 | 53.8 | 54.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.50 +0.31 to +0.70 | +0.34 +0.15 to +0.54 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 59% | 60.6% | 63% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 81% | 77.9% | 77.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 34.6% | 30.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
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 Ralph Allen 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 | Bath and North East Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54.3 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.8 | 37.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 54.6 | 34.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,371 |
| 2023/24 | 1,380 |
| 2024/25 | 1,382 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ralph Allen School compares
Ralph Allen School ranked 3rd of 14 secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 86% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54.6 | 10.2% | 18.2% | 1,398 | — |
| Beechen Cliff School | 55 | 6.1% | 11.5% | 1,232 | 1.5 miles |
| Hayesfield Girls School | 57 | 7.2% | 13% | 1,497 | 2.0 miles |
| Saint Gregory's Catholic College | 46.6 | 8.6% | 19.3% | 987 | 2.4 miles |
| St Mark's CofE School | 44.9 | 13.4% | 31.2% | 259 | 2.6 miles |
| St Laurence School | 54.5 | 7.7% | 15.3% | 1,378 | 3.1 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)
- 18.17%
- English as an additional language
- 8%
- Overall absence
- 10.2%
- Persistent absence
- 26.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Beechen Cliff School1.5 miles
Secondary · Bath
-
Hayesfield Girls School2.0 miles
Secondary · Bath
-
Saint Gregory's Catholic College2.4 miles
Secondary · Bath
-
St Mark's CofE School2.6 miles
Secondary · Bath
-
St Laurence School3.1 miles
Secondary · Bradford-on-Avon
Other schools in Bath
Ralph Allen School ranks 3rd of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Bath.
- Beechen Cliff School Secondary
- Hayesfield Girls School Secondary
- Oldfield School Secondary
- Saint Gregory's Catholic College Secondary
- St Mark's CofE School Secondary
- Bathampton Primary School Primary
- Batheaston Church School Primary
- Bathford Church School Primary
- Bathwick St Mary Church School Primary
- Combe Down CofE Primary School Primary
- Farmborough Church Primary School Primary
- Freshford Church School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Ralph Allen School teach?
- Ralph Allen School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bath.
- Who is the headteacher of Ralph Allen School?
- The headteacher of Ralph Allen School is Mr Nathan Jenkins, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ralph Allen School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ralph Allen School, 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 Ralph Allen School?
- Ralph Allen School has 1,398 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ralph Allen School full?
- Ralph Allen School has capacity for 1,300 pupils and 1,398 on roll (108%), 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 Ralph Allen School a faith school?
- No. Ralph Allen School has no designated religious character.
- Is Ralph Allen School a selective school?
- No. Ralph Allen School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Ralph Allen School part of an academy trust?
- Ralph Allen School is part of PALLADIAN ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Ralph Allen School have?
- The schools register lists Ralph Allen School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Ralph Allen School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 54.3 in 2022/23 and 54.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ralph Allen School compare with other schools in Bath and North East Somerset?
- Ralph Allen School ranked 3rd of 14 secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 86% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ralph Allen School's absence rate?
- Ralph Allen School's overall absence rate is 10.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ralph Allen School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ralph Allen 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 1 July 2026.