Ricards Lodge High School

About Ricards Lodge High School

Ricards Lodge High School is a girls’ secondary school in Merton that is running very close to capacity, with 1,476 pupils against a school capacity of 1,500. The school serves a notably diverse intake: 24.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national secondary average of around 23% and signals a genuinely comprehensive catchment. Demand for places is extremely high — for the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 815 applications for 254 places, an oversubscription ratio of 3.21. Of those, 232 families put Ricards Lodge as their first preference, and 179 first-preference offers were made, meaning a significant number of families who wanted a place didn’t get one. The school is one of five Outstanding-rated secondaries in Merton, and its closest Outstanding neighbour is Harris Academy Wimbledon, 2.1 km away. For families considering this school, the admissions data makes clear that securing a place is competitive, and it’s worth noting that the school has a sixth form, so pupils can stay on through to 18.

Academically, Ricards Lodge is a strong performer. Its Progress 8 score of 0.66 is rated ‘Well above average’ nationally and sits just above the Merton local authority average of 0.63. That means pupils here make significantly more progress than similar students nationally. The Attainment 8 score is 55, and 78.9% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, with 63% reaching grade 5 or above. The EBacc entry rate is high at 66.1%, and 47.1% of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 4 or above. In the most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, the school retained its Outstanding rating, with leadership and management also judged Outstanding and sixth form provision rated Good. In the previous graded inspection in 2017, the school was already Outstanding overall. Nationally, Ricards Lodge ranks 319th out of 3,141 schools on Progress 8, placing it in the top 25% of all state secondaries. In Merton, it sits 5th out of 8 schools on the same measure.

The school offers a broad range of facilities, including a swimming pool, theatre, sports hall, astro turf, tennis courts, science labs, music rooms, and a dedicated sixth form centre. Sports on offer include netball, hockey, gymnastics, cricket, swimming, and martial arts, while clubs range from chess and debate to orchestra and eco club. The school has a strong SEND offer, with provisions for dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language difficulties, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder, plus a resourced provision. For families, this is a high-demand, high-performing girls’ school that combines strong academic outcomes with a genuinely inclusive intake. The oversubscription ratio means you’ll need to live close or have a strong admissions criterion, but for those who secure a place, the data suggests excellent progress across the board, particularly in English and open subjects.

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