Reminder that our admissions for September 2024 are still open and must be completed by 31 October 2023 at 5pm, with decisions being issued on 1 March 2024.

Do you want to send your child to a school described by Ofsted as “caring and inclusive” with “strong support systems”, "high expectations for what they want pupils to achieve” and also a finalist for secondary school of the year in the Education Today Awards 2023? Click the link below to apply and find out more!

https://www.dudley.gov.uk/residents/learning-and-school/school-information/school-admissions/secondary-year-7-intake/

We are so proud to announce that we have been nominated for 'Secondary School of the Year' in the Education Today Awards 2023.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all of our students, parents and staff, for the great team effort, that has got us to this point.

When you combine this with our recent Ofsted 'Good' rating, it really has been a great start to the school year!

#ridgewoodhighschool #EducationTodayAwards2023 #stourvaleacademytrust

At Ridgewood we are continuing with our Silver Duke of Edinburgh award for Year 10 students. It is a fantastic experience to develop a range of different skills, as well as increasing independence, confidence and motivation. We have attached some resources below for you to look at. If your child is interested, please ask them to sign up their name on the dance studio door. This will not sign them up to the award but register their interest. We will then send out a letter in the next few weeks with more information. The expedition will be taking place between May and July. All costings for the Duke of Edinburgh will be listed within the letter. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqHrGnY_Ktg

DofE Silver

Parent info booklet

Our Open Period has drawn to a close, after a packer Open Evening and four brilliant Open Mornings with hundreds of prospective parents and students coming through our doors. We hope you enjoyed your visit! 

We'd like to recognise our fantastic students who acted as Tour Guides over Open Period, from our Junior Leaders in Year 11 to our newbies in Year 7, they gave parents a lovely visit and were able to answer all of their questions! 

Remember, you can still book a tour or visit if you missed Open Period! Simply email transition@ridgewood.dudley.sch.uk with your details and we'll be in touch. Admissions for September 2024 are now open, head over to https://www.ridgewood.dudley.sch.uk/primarytransition for more information! 

Ridgewood had the pleasure of welcoming the author Joel Arcanjo on Wednesday 27th September. He signed copies of his latest children's book 'Crookhaven: The Forgotten Maze' for our Year 7's in the library. Then we were joined by Year 6's (and staff) from St James’s CE Primary School, who took part in a fantastic question and answer session with him.

Afterwards, he gave a detailed and captivating presentation all about his books, how he creates his characters and plots and also his own book inspirations. He asked questions from the audience and read an extract from his latest book. Our students participated really well and enjoyed their time with him throughout!

Joel is about to embark on a wonderful new venture of turning his books into a ten-part children's drama series, destined for a TV streaming service. We wish Joel every success with his writing career in the future and thank him for his work with our children.

At Ridgewood, we are committed to ensuring that Parents and Carers have the tools to support their child with their learning, revision and independent work at home. Of course, this is of particular importance as Year 11 students have now started their final year at secondary school.

To support this, we would like to invite our Year 11 parents to our Year 11 Revision Evening, taking place on Thursday 19th October 2023, from 6.00pm-7.30pm. This event will take place in H Block. This evening is the second of two events about effective preparation for exams, the first of which was held in March 2023 and was well attended by our parent group. We would welcome and encourage students to also attend this evening with their parents.

The evening will consist of five workshops that you are invited to take part in;

• Workshop 1 – English in H2 with Mrs. Wright

• Workshop 2 – Maths in H3 with Mrs. Powis

• Workshop 3 – Science in The Library with Mr. Dunstan

• Workshop 4 – Effective Revision Strategies in H10 with Mrs. Harper

• Workshop 5 – Positive Frame of Mind during Exams in H7 with Mr. Ewing

Each workshop will last fifteen minutes, and you will rotate from one workshop to another. We would welcome and encourage students to also attend this evening with their parents. Parents are reminded that parking is limited on our school site and so if it is possible, please walk to school!

How to confirm your attendance:

If you could kindly confirm your attendance by completing the form on EduLink, we would be most grateful.

We know that effective partnerships between school and home lead to excellent outcomes for students, and parental attendance at this evening will ensure you feel equipped with the information you need to provide support for your child during this important period of their academic lives.

Calling our parents and carers! Do you have older children who came to Ridgewood but are now heading to pastures new? Perhaps to university or into a new job? If so, we always like to hear about how well our former-students are getting on, and would love to hear all about it. If you could send us a photo of your child moving into their halls, wearing their new uniform, starting their new job or whatever it might be, with a small description, we will then celebrate it on social media! Can’t wait to hear from you! Information can be sent to alumni@ridgewood.dudley.sch.uk – thanks!

Ridgewood High School in Stourbridge shared its delight in receiving their Ofsted report this week. The school was graded Good in every category having made significant improvements in its quality of education since the last inspection in November 2019.

Inspectors visited Ridgewood in July and described the school as “caring and inclusive” with “strong support systems” so that children “feel safe” and “happy.” Relationships between staff and students were “warm and respectful” with “leaders having high expectations for what they want pupils to achieve”.

The school has been on a journey of rapid improvement since February 2018 when the school was rated inadequate in every category. In November 2019, although the school was Requires Improvement overall, Ridgewood was given three Good grades for Behaviour and attitudes, Leadership and management as well as Personal Development. Because of Covid delays to the inspection regime, Ridgewood have had to wait for an inspection but the wait was worth it to get that ‘Good’ overall ready for the new school year. The new report states that “staff are proud of their school and it’s easy to see why when the changes they have implemented have had such a positive impact in the school.

Headteacher, Rae Cope, said, “It’s fantastic for the school community to finally have the Ofsted grade that the students and staff deserve. Ridgewood has been a very exciting place to be in recent years as we have totally transformed nearly every aspect of the school’s provision. We have very high expectations of what staff and students can achieve; every day we try to be the best school we can possibly be and this ambition is clearly paying off. Everyone who visits the school is bowled over by the calm and happy atmosphere along with the friendly and articulate manner of our students. Our parents form very supportive partnerships with us. This journey of improvement has been an incredible team effort. We are looking forward to what we can achieve in the coming years with plenty more plans in the pipeline!”

We recently received news that thanks to Miss Truslove and students Lexy, Morgan, Lilia, Sophie, Olivia and Molly who performed a very moving and fitting dance tribute at a charity event on the 21st July, helped raise a fantastic £3028 for Cancer Support! A massive well done to our wonderful dancers and Miss Truslove for supporting them, the students were described as being an absolute credit to themselves, their parents and Ridgewood.

After some heated competition we are pleased to announce this years Ridgewood MasterChef winner is Maisie in Year 8. The standard from all pupils was very high once again and the Ridgewood spirit between the contestants was lovely. Congrats Maisie and to everyone who took part!