Ripponden Junior and Infant School, Sowerby Bridge
Ripponden Junior and Infant School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Sowerby Bridge. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in April 2023 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 7th-highest of the 9 schools in Sowerby Bridge with published results, and 6,288th of 14,452 across England. It was 72% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2013)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Calderdale (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Ripponden Junior and Infant School in detail
Results
In 2025, 79% of Year 6 pupils at Ripponden Junior and Infant School reached the expected standard in reading and 79% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 75% in Calderdale and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 90% in reading and 87% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Ripponden Junior and Infant School
For September 2026 entry, 29 families put Ripponden Junior and Infant School as their first choice and 52 named it as one of their preferences, for 29 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Ripponden Junior and Infant School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Ripponden Junior and Infant School are Barkisland CofE VA Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 84% reading, 84% maths); St Mary's CofE (VC) J and I School (0.9 miles, Good, 92% reading, 83% maths); St John's Primary School In Rishworth (1.4 miles, Good, 89% reading, 89% maths); and Triangle CofE VC Primary School (1.4 miles, Good, 85% reading, 76% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Ripponden Junior and Infant School.
Barkisland CofE VA Primary SchoolSt Mary's CofE (VC) J and I SchoolSt John's Primary School In RishworthTriangle CofE VC Primary School
Who goes there
10.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 0.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 15 pupils (8.8%) received SEN support and 7 (4.1%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Ripponden Junior and Infant School had 6 teachers in 2026, one for every 30 pupils: fewer teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Sowerby Bridge Rail Station, about 2.5 miles away in a straight line.
15 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Ripponden School, 70 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 14 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and burglary. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Calderdale (102).
Suspensions and exclusions
Ripponden Junior and Infant School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from July 2013, 13 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's April 2023 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This is an inclusive, welcoming school where children thrive and develop strong values like kindness and resilience. The school excels at teaching early reading and maths in the early years, and supports all pupils - especially those with special needs - to succeed. Parents will appreciate the wide range of clubs and activities available, from Young Voices singing to musical soirees, which show the school's commitment to developing well-rounded children.
Key Strengths
- Strong reading programme with high-quality texts and skilled phonics teaching in early years
- Excellent support for pupils with SEND who learn alongside peers and have access to roles of responsibility
- Inclusive school culture with clear 'branch out' values (enthusiastic, resilient, kind, caring) understood by all
- Well-developed personal development focus including mental health, wellbeing and pupil leadership roles
- Strong early years provision where children get off to a great start with number and reading skills
Areas for Improvement
- Curriculum planning lacks precision in some subjects beyond mathematics - teachers unclear about essential knowledge and when to teach it
- Some pupils given tasks that are too easy and do not challenge them sufficiently
- Learning in some Key Stage 1 lessons is not clear and misconceptions not identified quickly enough
- Some SEND support plans lack sufficient detail about small steps in learning
- Safeguarding records for staff recruitment, behaviour management and concerns not always complete or rigorous
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is effective with regular staff training and confident pupils, but recording systems for concerns and recruitment information are not always rigorous or complete.
Extracurricular Activities
Young Voices singing trips, school musical soirees, wide variety of clubs and activities, yoga, roles such as peer mentors and school councillors, playleaders
Ripponden Junior and Infant School is a good school where pupils feel happy and safe and are proud to be part of the school family. Leaders are ambitious for pupils' learning and are developing a curriculum that engages and challenges them.
At a Glance
10.5%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 90% to 79% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 87% to 79% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 80% to 75% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
24.4
Avg class size
21.0
Infant (KS1)
27.0
KS2
7
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Ripponden Junior and Infant School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Ripponden Junior and Infant School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Ripponden Junior and Infant School is in Calderdale; for families living there:
Apply to Calderdale for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 12
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 7 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Calderdale is 12 (the median across 114 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Ripponden Junior and Infant School
Will you get a place at Ripponden Junior and Infant School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Ripponden Junior and Infant School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Ripponden Junior and Infant School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Ripponden Junior and Infant School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Calderdale, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Ripponden Junior and Infant School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Calderdale got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
72%
Available places
181 pupils
253 places
72 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Sowerby Bridge
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Sowerby Bridge
Across Calderdale council
Places available
2,848
Applications
1,863
Got 1st preference
96.6%
Got preferred school
99.4%
All primary applications across Calderdale council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(7)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
15
SEN Support
7
EHC Plans
12.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
171
Total Pupils
77
Boys
94
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
6
Teachers
28.5:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£55,800
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,332
Per pupil
£1037k
Total funding
£24k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.1%
Overall absence
7.5%
Persistent absence
160
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Ripponden Junior and Infant School
Questions parents ask about Ripponden Junior and Infant School
What are SATs results like at Ripponden Junior and Infant School?
Of the pupils at Ripponden Junior and Infant School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 79% reached the expected standard in reading and 79% did so in maths.
What is Ripponden Junior and Infant School's Ofsted rating?
Ripponden Junior and Infant School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in April 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in July 2013, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Ripponden Junior and Infant School?
No fixed boundary. When Ripponden Junior and Infant School is oversubscribed, Calderdale allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Ripponden Junior and Infant School?
Ripponden Junior and Infant School was not full in 2025: it ran at 72% of its 253 places.
How big are the classes at Ripponden Junior and Infant School?
Classes at Ripponden Junior and Infant School average 24.4 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Ripponden Junior and Infant School?
Ripponden Junior and Infant School has around 171 pupils on roll. 11% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Ripponden Junior and Infant School?
4.1% of sessions were missed at Ripponden Junior and Infant School in 2024/25. 7.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Ripponden Junior and Infant School?
Apply through Calderdale's coordinated admissions process, naming Ripponden Junior and Infant School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Ripponden Junior and Infant School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 7 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Calderdale is 12 (the median across 114 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Ripponden Junior and Infant School?
Ripponden Junior and Infant School is at Halifax Road, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX6 4AH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)