About us

We want every student who leaves Ridgewood School to aspire to achieve beyond what they thought they could do when they first started with us. Our core values emphasise high standards, pride in everything we do, and working together as school community to achieve the best, both inside and beyond the classroom. Nobody at Ridgewood settles for second best. It is important to us that our students not only achieve great results, but develop as people who are ready to meet any challenges they face in the future with confidence and self-assurance. We want to give our students opportunities that let them grow both intellectually and personally, and enable them to develop their own unique characters. Students at Ridgewood are given the means to contribute to both our school community and the wider community beyond. We educate the whole child so that students immerse themselves wholeheartedly in school life, and leave with a desire to contribute to society.

We offer our students an environment in which they can flourish, and see the results of their own hard work pay off. With the help of our dedicated staff, they can prepare for the road ahead and begin their journey into adult life equipped with the skills they need to ensure a happy and successful future.

We educate the whole child. Ridgewood School seeks to provide all its students with the opportunities and support which enable them to achieve and exceed their potential, not only in terms of academic achievement, but as a valuable member of the school community, and of the wider society beyond.

Values

Our core values are Excellence, Integrity, Teamwork and Enjoyment.

• Excellence underpins everything we do at Ridgewood
• We do our jobs right to set the highest standards
• We show excellence in what we do so we can be proud of our craft
• Competence gives us confidence and self-esteem
• We prepare well, always seek ways to get even better, and never stop learning
• If something is not excellent, it is not finished

Our school day

Behaviour for Learning

Our Behaviour for Learning policy (BfL) ensures that students are able to learn and work without distractions, and that praise is at the forefront of every lesson. It has four simple rules which students must follow:

• Remain on-task at all times
• Remain silent when the teacher is talking
• Speak to other people in a pleasant way
• Do not touch another student

Those students who do not follow these rules will receive consequences which may lead to an after school detention if the rules are consistently broken. Students who follow the rules will receive praise from their teachers, and will be eligible for the ALTUS reward system. We strive to create an environment where teachers can teach, and students can learn.

Sixth Form

Our Sixth Form provision is first class and our results are a testament to the excellent teaching that students receive, and the commitment and hard work of all our Sixth Form students. Over 90% of our Sixth Form students go on to study at university, with one in three gaining a place at a prestigious Russell Group university (which is twice the national average). Over 90% of our students progressed onto their first choice university in 2016. We believe our students leave Ridgewood not only ready for the academic challenges that lie ahead, but with the skills and attributes to become active citizens and confident leaders.

Facilities

We have excellent facilities, available both to our Sixth Form students in our Faraday Sixth Form Centre and across the whole school site.

• A purpose built Sixth Form Centre which includes subject-specific classrooms
• Purpose built Science and STEM laboratories
• Resource centres housing key texts, journals and access to bookable equipment such as tablets and digital cameras
• Several IT suites
• A 200-seat, multi-use auditorium
• A café
• A gymnasium, a full sized sports hall, a fitness room, three 5-aside football pitches, one 9-aside football pitch, two 11-aside football pitches, one full sized rugby pitch, three netball courts and four tennis courts
• An iMac suite featuring 26 iMacs with MIDI keyboards with Sibelius, Garage Band and Logic Pro X software
• Six fully restored music practice rooms (benefitting from an electric drum kit, keyboard, guitar, bass, microphone and multi-channel amp)
• Laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC Milling machines, and a range of state of the art engineering facilities
• A kiln for clay work

Validus

We are extremely proud to be able to offer our students Validus, a dedicated wellbeing centre equipped to meet the needs of all our young people.

Validus provides a programme of holistic support, including qualified counselling support from a full time counsellor, professional and targeted support for young people experiencing issues, and specialist support for those pupil experiencing stress, anxiety, depression and low mood. It also raises the profile of wellbeing for all young people and staff and effectively supports our wider school teams.