UK Schools
Ridgeway Academy
Ridgeway Academy is a mixed secondary academy in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire County Council, teaching 875 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted graded quality of education as Good at its most recent inspection in June 2025. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 35.7 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 3 September 2025 to 17 July 2026.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for Ridgeway Academy.
From September 2024 Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. These are the graded judgement areas from the latest inspection.
Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Ridgeway Academy.
- 1 Inset Day
- 2 Inset Day
- 3 Start of Term (Year 7 & Year 12)
- 4 Start of Term (All Students)
- 11 Open Evening
- 27–31 Autumn Half Term Holiday
- 28 Occasional Day
- 22–31 Christmas Holiday
- 25 Christmas Day
- 26 Boxing Day
- 1–2 Christmas Holiday
- 5 Start of Spring Term
- 5 Inset Day
- 13 Inset Day
- 16–20 Spring Half Term Holiday
- 27 End of Spring Term
- 1–3 School Holiday
- 3 Good Friday
- 6–17 Easter Holiday
- 6 Inset Day
- 6 Easter Monday
- 13 Start of Summer Term
- 4 Bank Holiday (Early May)
- 4 Early May Bank Holiday
- 25–29 Summer Half Term Holiday
- 25 Spring Bank Holiday
- 9 Secondary Transfer Taster Day
- 17 End of Summer Term / Last Day of Academic Year
- 20–24 Occasional Days (School Closed)
- 20 Inset Day
- 21 Inset Day
- 3–28 Summer Holiday (continued)
- 31 Summer Bank Holiday
Key dates (2025–2026)
- Start of Term (Year 7 & Year 12) Sep 3, 2025 Term
- Start of Term (All Students) Sep 4, 2025 Term
- Open Evening Sep 11, 2025 Event
- Autumn Half Term Holiday Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
- Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
- Start of Spring Term Jan 5, 2026 Term
- Spring Half Term Holiday Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
- End of Spring Term Mar 27, 2026 Term
- School Holiday Apr 1-3, 2026 Holiday
- Easter Holiday Apr 6-17, 2026 Holiday
- Start of Summer Term Apr 13, 2026 Term
- Bank Holiday (Early May) May 4, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Half Term Holiday May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
- Secondary Transfer Taster Day Jul 9, 2026 Event
- End of Summer Term / Last Day of Academic Year Jul 17, 2026 Term
- Occasional Days (School Closed) Jul 20-24, 2026 Event
- Summer Holiday (continued) Aug 3-28, 2026 Holiday
- Inset Day Sep 1, 2025 Inset Day
- Inset Day Sep 2, 2025 Inset Day
- Inset Day Jan 5, 2026 Inset Day
- Inset Day Feb 13, 2026 Inset Day
- Inset Day Apr 6, 2026 Inset Day
- Inset Day Jul 20, 2026 Inset Day
- Inset Day Jul 21, 2026 Inset Day
- Occasional Day Nov 28, 2025 Event
- Jan 1, 2026 - New Year's Day Bank Holidays Event
- Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
- Easter Monday Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
- Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
- Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
- Boxing Day Dec 26, 2025 Event
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Ridgeway Academy with Hertfordshire County Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 35.7 Attainment 8 score
Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 27.67 A level average point score
Results for students finishing post-16 study.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
Attendance 30.1% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 95% In education, apprenticeship or work
Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 90% In education, apprenticeship or work
Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
About this data source & caveats
Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.
We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.
Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Ridgeway Academy. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.
Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Location & catchment area
Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Ridgeway Academy than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.