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Ricards Lodge High School

Secondary · London · SW19 7HB

Data updated

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Outstanding

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Outstanding. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 14 September 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,534 pupils · 102% of 1,500 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Community school
Age range
11–19
Gender
Girls
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
26.9% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
37.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
16% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://ricardslodge.merton.sch.uk/
URN
102673

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 193 families named it first for 266 Year 7 places, 0.73 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 3184.98 m (≈1.98 mi); distance decided places in 11 of the 13 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2013 to 2026. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 14 September 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Outstanding. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.73 first-choice applications per place

266 places offered · 193 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 3184.98 m (≈1.98 mi) for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 3184.98 m (≈1.98 mi)

measured in a straight line.

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Would you have got in? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed: your postcode against this school's cutoff history. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools you would be inside, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

222 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
54.2
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
77.5%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
55.4%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.9
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) B-
35.1
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school54.2
Median of its 12 closest peers54.1
Merton average52.7
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Chiswick SchoolLondon · 4 miles awayGood54.5
Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary AcademyDerby · 118 miles awayGood45.3
The Grange SchoolAylesbury · 37 miles awayGood40.4
Holland Park SchoolLondon · 5 miles awayStrong standard59.4
The Swan SchoolOxford · 50 miles awayGood55.4
Wanstead High SchoolLondon · 15 miles awayGood (2015)54.1
St Mary's Catholic SchoolNewcastle-upon-Tyne · 254 miles awayOutstanding58.9
Avonbourne Girls AcademyBournemouth · 85 miles awayOutstanding53
Batley Girls' High SchoolBatley · 170 miles awayGood46.9
The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form CentreSurbiton · 5 miles awayGood (2016)53.8
Highgate Wood Secondary SchoolLondon · 11 miles awayExpected standard56.3
Ruislip High SchoolRuislip · 13 miles awayOutstanding54.1

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
6 of 10 places taken places may be available

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 30% (Merton 26%, England 59%) · Any other White background 16% (Merton 19%, England 7%) · Any other Asian background 11% (Merton 8%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 9% (Merton 7%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 6% (Merton 6%, England 3%) · Black African 5% (Merton 8%, England 5%) · Any other ethnic group 4% (Merton 4%, England 3%) · Asian Chinese 3% (Merton 1%, England 1%) · Asian Indian 3% (Merton 3%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Asian 3% (Merton 2%, England 2%) · Not recorded 3% (Merton 2%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 2% (Merton 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Merton 3%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 2% (Merton 3%, England 1%) · Black Caribbean 2% (Merton 4%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Merton 2%, England 1%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
18.9%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

3.25 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Merton: 4.83 suspensions and 0.06 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
15.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

94% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 1% moved to another state school · 5% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained secondaries: 0.22% vacant, 0.42% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

82.1% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.8 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £63,348; 7.5% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£8,877
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 80% (77%) · premises 7% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (7%) · supplies and services 14% (10%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 3% (2%) · catering 1% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve -£1,675,083; in-year balance -£2,109,404

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
97%
Continuing in education
96%
Apprenticeship
0%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
76%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
10%
Any sustained destination
88%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher67.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications7.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work57.1%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways3.4%18.1%
Residents in very good health65.2%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier82.2%62.3%
Social housing1.3%17.1%
Privately rented16.6%20.5%
Detached houses62.8%22.9%
Flats13.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms74.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van10.8%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01003465 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£881,500445 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£528,000–£1,625,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (50)£3,576,000
Semi-detached (79)£1,660,000
Terraced (97)£1,272,500
Flat (219)£528,000

Homes around this school are among the dearest tenth of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (3.19 km, 2026 entry): 7,486 sales, median £618,500. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
9an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
23an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
4an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools