School Chooser

Ripplevale School Rochester

Special · ages 6-25MixedIndependent140 pupilsRochesterMedway
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Places70 spare140 pupils, 210 places
Pupils on roll140Census January 2024

Ripplevale School Rochester is an independent special school in Rochester for boys and girls aged 6 to 25. It has 140 pupils and room for 210.

9-13 New Road, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, ME1 1BG01634 812233ripplevaleschool.co.ukMiss Natalie Christie executive headteacherAll details

Inspection

This private school is inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, not Ofsted. Its reports are at isi.net.

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

27 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score1.1
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Trend
Average GCSE score
2022 to 2025
2022: 4.04.020222023: 7.87.820232024: 1.31.320242025: 1.11.12025
Since 2022: -2.9
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018MedwayEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 1127182322144
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 81.11.37.84.046.846.8
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%45%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%0%13%14%64%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.090.120.670.244.224.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%52%41%

Subjects

Results came out for 1 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

What is taught here

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
Mathematics10 entries
0%England 53%
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Mathematics100%0%10%53%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At GCSE, 2025

Average GCSE scoreBoys vs girls
1.11.1
No gapEngland 3.0
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Medway council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll140Census January 2024
Places21067% full
Pupils from low-income familiesGet free school meals
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%140 pupils with a plan
Boys and girls82 / 58
How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll140146159172191174
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals0%0%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%1%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%99%

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m89012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate347 per 1,000 people281% higher than the England average
Typical house price£310,000Medway
Nearest bus stop30 mJacksons Fields, 20 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Rochester Independent CollegeIndependent150 m401Not inspectedCompare
St Margaret's at Troy Town CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolAcademy400 m216Report card 202689Compare
Fort Pitt Grammar SchoolAcademy (grammar)410 m1,009Outstanding 202295Compare
St Andrew's School (Rochester)Independent740 m329Not inspectedCompare
St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive SchoolRoman Catholic790 m1,084No overall grade 202417Compare
St Peter's Infant SchoolCouncil830 m60Good 202410Compare
St John's Church of England Infant SchoolAcademy840 m77Good 20245Compare
King's School, RochesterIndependent910 m574Not inspectedCompare

Questions parents ask

Is Ripplevale School Rochester a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Ripplevale School Rochester yet.

How good are Ripplevale School Rochester's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 1.1, against 46.8 for England.

How many pupils does Ripplevale School Rochester have?

140 pupils aged 6 to 25 were on the roll in January 2024. It has 210 places, so it is 67% full.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
9-13 New Road, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, ME1 1BG
Telephone
01634 812233
Website
www.ripplevaleschool.co.uk
Executive Headteacher
Miss Natalie Christie
Type of school
Independent special school (Other independent special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 6-25
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Local authority
Medway
Ward
Rochester West & Borstal
Constituency
Rochester and Strood
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
21 October 1999
URN
132097 · LAESTAB 8876006 · UKPRN 10015937

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from