River Academy
River Academy is a free school in Reading for boys and girls aged 11 to 18. It has 373 pupils and room for 1,200. About 33 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools.
7 Richfield Avenue, Reading, RG1 8EQ0118 216 0400river-academy.co.ukMr Andrew Hartley headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet. That is normal for a school that opened in 2024: new schools usually get their first inspection within three years.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
0 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
1,013 places were empty (84% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in.
How places were given out for September 2026.
| Entry | Places | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 180 | – | LA |
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 7 pupils, for moderate learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Reading with moderate learning difficulties provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (26), language and communications needs (24), Moderate learning difficulty (23), emotional and mental health (21), Specific learning difficulty (10), Other difficulty or disability (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 373 | 186 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 33% | 29% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 37% | 32% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 25% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 9% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 5.1% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.8% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.3% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 9.9% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 3.2 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre | Academy | 1.3 miles | 1,537 | Good 2024 | 71 | Compare |
| The WREN School | Free school | 1.3 miles | 931 | Report card 2026 | 42 | Compare |
| Kendrick School | Academy (grammar) | 1.4 miles | 939 | Outstanding 2022 | 99 | Compare |
| Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School | Roman Catholic | 1.5 miles | 1,082 | Good 2023 | 53 | Compare |
| King's Academy Prospect | Academy | 1.8 miles | 1,157 | Good 2022 | 23 | Compare |
| Reading School | Academy (grammar) | 1.9 miles | 1,138 | Outstanding 2023 | 99 | Compare |
| Reading Girls' School | Academy | 2.3 miles | 905 | Good 2021 | 60 | Compare |
| Maiden Erlegh School in Reading | Free school | 2.4 miles | 889 | Good 2023 | 54 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is River Academy a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score River Academy yet.
How many pupils does River Academy have?
373 pupils aged 11 to 18 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,200 places, so it is 31% full.
Is River Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 1,013 places were empty in 2024/25 (84% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at River Academy?
Pupils were in school 94.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 10% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at River Academy?
The average class had 26.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 36% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does River Academy have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for moderate learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does River Academy have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- 7 Richfield Avenue, Reading, RG1 8EQ
- Telephone
- 0118 216 0400
- Website
- www.river-academy.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Hartley
- Type of school
- Free school (Free schools, free schools)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-18, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Maiden Erlegh Trust (11 schools)
- Local authority
- Reading
- Ward
- Thames
- Constituency
- Reading Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2024 (academy free school)
- URN
- 150728 · LAESTAB 8704004 · UKPRN 10095882
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Reading council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.