Introduction

Ripley is a large school situated in beautiful grounds in the city of Lancaster. The school has a long and proud tradition, having been established as the gift of Thomas and Julia Ripley in 1864. Their spirit of adventure, philanthropy and faith is still at the core of what we do and what we offer today, 150 years later.

Ripley St Thomas is a Voluntary-Aided comprehensive Church of England Academy opened in 1864, now with over 1700 pupils aged 11-18 on roll. Of these 380 are in the Sixth Form. The school admits 270 pupils each September. We exist to provide the best educational opportunities we can for the young people and families we are privileged to serve. At Ripley, we aim to combine our rich tradition with 21st century thinking in order to develop our young people in body, mind and spirit and equip them to be responsible members of society who will make a real difference in this world.

Ripley has a long tradition of academic excellence; based on value-added performance, the school is placed within the top 25% of secondary schools nationally and features in the Department of Education list of “Outstanding Schools”. We are confident that at Ripley we provide a rigorous and productive learning environment where children are both challenged and supported. Our conviction is that education should address the whole of what it means to be a happy, fulfilled and successful adult; as such, we offer a broad range of co-curricular activities to supplement and enhance the experiences gained in the classroom. We have high expectations of all our pupils and are determined that each young person will have the opportunity to shine during their time with us – and enjoy themselves in the process!

Our vision

We aim for all members of our Christian community to  flourish spiritually, academically and personally so that they can live life in all its fullness.

‘I have come in order that you might have life – life in all its fullness.’     (John 10:10)

How we realise our vision

At Ripley, we realise our vision   through our Christian values of faith, hope, love and service. Our commitment to the Christian faith and these values helps create our harmonious, kind and  considerate school.

‘And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.’                                                                                                                                                                                                                  (1 Corinthians 13:13)