The Reach Free School
Long Lane, Rickmansworth, WD3 8AB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- REACH LEARNING LIMITED
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Booth
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- South West Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 840
- Pupils on roll
- 734
- URN
- 139662
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01923711517
About this school
The Reach Free School is a secondary academy in Rickmansworth. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 734 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Reach Free 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 October 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 123 | 117 | 119 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.2 | 46.6 | 44.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.11 -0.37 to +0.16 | -0.02 -0.29 to +0.25 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 37% | 43.6% | 35.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 64.1% | 62.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 80% | 73.5% | 69.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
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 Reach Free 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 | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.2 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.6 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.2 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 734 |
| 2023/24 | 755 |
| 2024/25 | 753 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Reach Free School compares
The Reach Free School ranked 56th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.2 | 9.2% | 21.9% | 734 | — |
| Saint Joan of Arc Catholic School | 50.6 | 7.9% | 10.4% | 1,198 | 1.7 miles |
| St Clement Danes School | 65.1 | 6.5% | 5.3% | 1,585 | 2.1 miles |
| Rickmansworth School | 61.2 | 5.1% | 7.2% | 1,575 | 2.2 miles |
| Harefield School | 37.1 | 13% | 49.4% | 287 | 2.3 miles |
| The Chalfonts Community College | 38.9 | 13.8% | 23% | 1,058 | 3.3 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)
- 21.91%
- English as an additional language
- 17.1%
- Overall absence
- 9.18%
- Persistent absence
- 25.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Saint Joan of Arc Catholic School1.7 miles
Secondary · Rickmansworth
-
St Clement Danes School2.1 miles
Secondary · Rickmansworth
-
Rickmansworth School2.2 miles
Secondary · Rickmansworth
-
Harefield School2.3 miles
Secondary · Uxbridge
-
The Chalfonts Community College3.3 miles
Secondary · Gerrards Cross
Other schools in Rickmansworth
The Reach Free School ranks 5th of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Rickmansworth.
- Croxley Danes School Secondary
- Rickmansworth School Secondary
- Saint Joan of Arc Catholic School Secondary
- St Clement Danes School Secondary
- Arnett Hills Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Chenies School Primary
- Chorleywood Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Chorleywood CofE School Primary
- Harvey Road Primary School Primary
- Little Green Junior School Primary
- Malvern Way Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Maple Cross Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Reach Free School teach?
- The Reach Free School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Rickmansworth.
- Who is the headteacher of The Reach Free School?
- The headteacher of The Reach Free School is Mr Richard Booth, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Reach Free School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Reach Free 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 The Reach Free School?
- The Reach Free School has 734 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Reach Free School full?
- The Reach Free School has capacity for 840 pupils and 734 on roll (87%), 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 The Reach Free School a faith school?
- No. The Reach Free School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Reach Free School a selective school?
- No. The Reach Free School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Reach Free School part of an academy trust?
- The Reach Free School is part of REACH LEARNING LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Reach Free School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.2 in 2022/23 and 44.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Reach Free School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- The Reach Free School ranked 56th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% 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 Reach Free School's absence rate?
- The Reach Free School's overall absence rate is 9.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Reach Free School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Reach Free 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.