Ridgeway Academy
Academy sponsor led in Welwyn Garden City, AL7 2AF, taking ages 11 to 18, 875 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 7.11 miles Hertfordshire published for latest published year, as the checker measures.
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Will an address get in?
In the latest published round, the furthest child offered a place lived 7.11 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.
How this compares: every Hertfordshire school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 7.11 miles, the distance the school admitted from in the latest published year.
Ridgeway Academy: 7.11 miles Springmead Primary School: 4.11 miles, published by Hertfordshire
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Ridgeway Academy is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.
Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.
Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside both circles; each opens the district's guide.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
Source: Hertfordshire, published admission distances
Where Ridgeway Academy and Springmead Primary School are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. Springmead Primary School admitted from 4.11 miles in the latest published year, published by Hertfordshire. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside both published distances, cheapest first by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is AL10 at £340,000; the dearest shown, AL6, £620,000. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.
| District | Area | From Ridgeway Academy | From Springmead Primary School | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL10 | Welwyn Hatfield | 3.7 mi | 4.0 mi | £340,000 64 sales |
| AL7 | Welwyn Hatfield | 0.5 mi | 0.9 mi | £425,000 62 sales |
| SG3 | North Hertfordshire | 4.0 mi | 4.0 mi | £430,000 119 sales |
| AL8 | Welwyn Hatfield | 1.4 mi | 1.8 mi | £489,000 60 sales |
| SG14 | East Hertfordshire | 3.6 mi | 3.2 mi | £600,000 105 sales |
| AL6 | Welwyn Hatfield | 2.3 mi | 2.4 mi | £620,000 44 sales |
Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Distances measured from each district's centre to each school's point on the Department for Education register.
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Drop Springmead Primary School and go back to one school.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Hertfordshire, 109 of 519 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (21.0%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
Other schools nearby with a published distance
The closest schools to Ridgeway Academy that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panshanger Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 0.21 mi | 0.1 mi |
| Springmead Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 4.11 mi | 0.4 mi |
| Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School Both in reach | Primary | 2.28 mi | 0.6 mi |
| Waterside Academy Both in reach | Primary | 0.48 mi | 0.7 mi |
| Holwell Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 1.54 mi | 0.9 mi |
| Commonswood Primary & Nursery School Both in reach | Primary | 3.26 mi | 1.2 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Admissions | Non-selective |
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Has a sixth form |
| How full | 875 pupils in 1,220 places (72% full) |
| Trust | AMBITION EDUCATION TRUST |
| Local authority | Hertfordshire |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Attainment 8 | 35.7 (2024/25) |
| Year | Progress 8 |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | not published |
| 2023/24 | -0.47 |
| 2022/23 | -0.36 |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Ridgeway Academy
| Girls and boys | 49.5% girls, 50.5% boys |
| English as an additional language | 8.8% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 33.1% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Where Ridgeway Academy's Year 11 went next
| Stayed for the sixth form | 42.8% |
| Sixth-form college | 0.7% |
| Further education college | 43.4% |
| Apprenticeship | 2.1% |
| Employment | 6.2% |
| No sustained destination recorded | 4.1% |
DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.
What it costs to live within reach of Ridgeway Academy
Cheapest district inside the 7.11 miles: AL10, median £340,000. Dearest: SG13, £674,000.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL10 | Welwyn Hatfield | 3.7 mi | £340,000 64 sales |
| SG2 | Stevenage | 6.6 mi | £346,000 133 sales |
| AL7 | Welwyn Hatfield | 0.5 mi | £425,000 62 sales |
| SG3 | North Hertfordshire | 4.0 mi | £430,000 119 sales |
| SG12 | East Hertfordshire | 7.0 mi | £480,000 126 sales |
| AL8 | Welwyn Hatfield | 1.4 mi | £489,000 60 sales |
| EN6 | Hertsmere | 7.1 mi | £575,000 96 sales |
| SG14 | East Hertfordshire | 3.6 mi | £600,000 105 sales |
| AL4 | St Albans | 5.3 mi | £600,000 122 sales |
| AL6 | Welwyn Hatfield | 2.3 mi | £620,000 44 sales |
| SG13 | East Hertfordshire | 4.7 mi | £674,000 76 sales |
How to read this
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 7.11 miles the school admitted from in the latest published year, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.
How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.
Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide
Getting to Ridgeway Academy by bus
Best-served stop: Watchmead, 0.2 mi away, with 2.1 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 06:21, last 19:56.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Frederic Osborn School | 68 yd | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 204, 206 |
| Sir Frederic Osborn School | 170 yd | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 401, 400 |
| Wren Wood | 0.1 mi | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 401, 400 |
These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Ridgeway Academy against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around AL7: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at AL7 2AF, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Ridgeway Academy?
Ridgeway Academy does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in the latest published year lived 7.11 miles away, per Hertfordshire.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Ridgeway Academy?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 7.11 miles was enough in the latest published year. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.
Does buying a house near Ridgeway Academy guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.
Every Hertfordshire school's distance
All Hertfordshire schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
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Admission distance published by Hertfordshire. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.