Ribston Hall High School

About Ribston Hall High School

Ribston Hall High School, a girls’ state secondary in Gloucester, holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained consistently across its two most recent inspections. The most telling academic metric for the school is its Progress 8 score of 0.24, which is classified as ‘Above average’ nationally. This means that, on average, pupils at Ribston achieve nearly a quarter of a grade more per subject than students with similar starting points across England. The school’s Attainment 8 score sits at 64.8, and a very high 86.8% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths. In the local authority of Gloucestershire, where the average Progress 8 score is 0.19, Ribston outperforms the typical school, ranking 16th out of 44 similar schools. Its performance is particularly strong in the EBacc subjects, where its Progress 8 score rises to 0.48, though maths progress is slightly negative at -0.24.

At A-level, the picture is more mixed. Ribston’s sixth form, which had 57 students in the most recent data, achieved an average points per entry of 32.39, equivalent to a C+ grade. The average grade across the best three A-levels was a C, with 5.7% of entries achieving grades AAB or higher. The school’s value-added score for sixth form is -0.25, which is banded as ‘Below average’, suggesting that students here make slightly less progress between GCSE and A-level than the national average. This contrasts with the strong KS4 results and may reflect the selective intake at other local grammar schools. For context, the top-performing school in the local area, Pate’s Grammar School, has a Progress 8 score of 1.01, while Ribston sits comfortably above the local authority average.

Ribston is a popular school, oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year with 461 applications for 148 places, a ratio of 3.11 applicants per place. Only 61 of those offers went to first-preference applicants, indicating strong competition. The school has a range of facilities including a swimming pool, astro turf, tennis courts, and a dedicated sixth form centre. It offers a wide selection of clubs such as Debate, Model UN, DofE, and a Film Club, alongside sports including hockey, rugby, and martial arts. The school supports pupils with a variety of special educational needs, including dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, and physical disabilities. With 7.9% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school has a lower-than-average proportion of disadvantaged students. Ribston is a good fit for families seeking a high-performing girls’ school with strong GCSE outcomes and a broad extracurricular offer, though those prioritising exceptional A-level value-added may want to explore nearby grammar options.

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