Ranikhet Academy

About Ranikhet Academy

Ranikhet Academy, a state primary in Reading, was rated Good by Ofsted in its most recent inspection in 2021, a significant improvement from its previous Inadequate rating in 2018. The inspection report gave top marks across the board, with Good grades for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. When it comes to the most telling exam metric, the school’s Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show that 51% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure sits below the Reading local authority average of 61%, placing the school 31st out of 38 primaries in the borough and in the bottom half nationally. However, the picture is more nuanced in individual subjects: 77% of pupils reached the expected standard in writing, and 66% in reading, while maths lagged at 63%.

Digging deeper into the KS2 data, the school’s average scores in reading (102) and maths (103) are both just above the national benchmark of 100, suggesting that while many pupils are hitting the expected level, relatively few are exceeding it. Only 9% of pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects, and the proportion reaching the higher bar in reading, maths and writing was a consistent 17% each. The school ranks 1,576th out of 2,034 primaries in the South East region, and 10,485th nationally out of 13,686. With 46.7% of pupils eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, Ranikhet serves a community with significant disadvantage, which provides important context for its academic outcomes. The school’s Progress 8 scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to measure how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points.

Ranikhet Academy is a three-form entry primary with a nursery, accommodating 231 pupils against a capacity of 236, and it is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 50 applications for 25 places, with all 25 first-preference applicants receiving an offer. The school offers a broad range of facilities including a sports hall, gymnasium, art studios and a chapel, and runs clubs such as gardening, eco club, film club and drama. Sports on offer include dance, netball, football, tennis and cricket. The school has a strong SEND provision, catering for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. This makes it a potentially good fit for families in Reading whose children have identified additional needs, particularly given the school’s recent improvement journey and its focus on behaviour and personal development, both rated Good.

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