River Academy
Secondary · Reading · RG1 8EQ
Data updated
Not yet graded
No graded inspection outcome is available for this school under either the current or the previous framework. This is common for recently opened or converted schools.
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
373 pupils · 31% of 1,200 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Free schools
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Free school meals
- 33.2% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 31.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 24.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 8.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Sixth form
- Yes
- URN
- 150728
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 211 families named it first for 162 Year 7 places, 1.30 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 0.996 miles; distance decided places in 3 of the 3 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2024 to 2026. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026
1.30 first-choice applications per place162 places offered · 211 first-choice applications · oversubscribed
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 0.996 miles for 2026 entry.
Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7
Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 0.996 miles
measured in a straight line.
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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Reading school admissions · the wider Reading authority
GCSE results (2024/2025)
no data
no data
no data
no data
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.
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means
Special educational needs
Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.
- Moderate Learning Difficulty
Provision type: Resourced provision.
- Resourced provision
- 7 of 7 places taken full, or over capacity
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 27% (Reading 28%, England 59%) · Any other White background 16% (Reading 10%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 9% (Reading 16%, England 4%) · Black African 9% (Reading 8%, England 5%) · Asian Pakistani 8% (Reading 7%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 7% (Reading 8%, England 3%) · Any other Mixed background 5% (Reading 4%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 4% (Reading 3%, England 2%) · Not recorded 4% (Reading 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 3% (Reading 3%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Reading 2%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 2% (Reading 1%, England 1%) · Asian Chinese 2% (Reading 3%, England 1%) · Black Caribbean 2% (Reading 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Reading 1%, England 1%)
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
3.23 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Reading: 22.87 suspensions and 0.16 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
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
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
92% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
38.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.6 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 £56,097; 13.6% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2024-25)
Where the money went (2024-25)
Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 66% (77%) · premises 12% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 12% (6%) · supplies and services 10% (11%) · educational supplies 7% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 3% (3%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£27,000
Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 7/10less deprived than most of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 7/10less deprived than most of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 58.2% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 9.5% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 53% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 8.2% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 55.1% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 41.6% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 4.9% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 53.6% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 3.9% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 29.4% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 12.1% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 30% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01016355 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £328,000281 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £248,000–£390,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (1.60 km, 2026 entry): 1,089 sales, median £325,000. 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
- 0an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 0an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 3an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 0an 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