Ridgeway Education Trust

Ridgeway Education Trust (RET) is dedicated to high quality education for 3-19 year olds with powerful collaboration at its heart. 

We believe that education has the potential to transform lives. Social justice matters to us all and we are determined that our most disadvantaged pupils thrive. We believe that schools are uniquely positioned to enable all chidren and young people develop to be happy, fulfilled and productive members of society.

We believe that school improvement is most successful when underpinned by deep collaboration at all levels: we are always stronger together. 

The Trust was established in 2012 by a far-sighted Trustee and since then we have been busy transforming our schools so that they are the beacons of excellence and high performance of today. We are ready to grow and to fulfil our simple and ambitious mission of providing excellent education for children and young people in Didcot and the surrounding area. 

Our Values

Ambition: we are ambitious for our children and young people and for their futures, for our communities and for ourselves as professionals. We are restless in our commitment to continuous improvement, we embrace innovation and are outwards facing so that we are always learning.  

Integrity: we lead ethically, demonstrate respect at all times and keep our promises. We try always to adopt the mantra of ‘listen first’. This builds trust, enables deep and meaningful collaboration and inspires pride in our collective effort and achievements. We pro-actively show our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion throughout our Trust community.

Leading for legacy: we have the humility to recognise that we only inhabit our roles for brief periods of time. We are stewards, building a future for the next generation. Sustainable school improvement takes time. This inspires restless leadership and a commitment to developing others, to step back whilst others step forward.

Our RET values of ambition, integrity and leading for legacy underpin all that we do.  

Our Culture

The culture of the Trust is inclusive and ambitious. Whilst we believe that the identity of each school is precious, and the context of a school is fundamental to the right school improvement strategy, we also believe that best practice which has demonstrable impact should be shared and systematised across the Trust to the benefit of all young people.This approach is best described as aligned autonomy. 

We are delighted to welcome new schools as we grow our primary hub and develop our community reach. RET currently comprises:

• Didcot Girls' School
• St Birinus School
• Didcot Sixth Form
• Sutton Courtenay CofE Primary School
• All Saints CofE Primary School
• Long Wittenham CofE Primary School 
• Carterton Primary School
• Hagbourne CofE Primary School

We look forward to Stephen Freeman Primary School  joining us in November 2024:

Here is a map showing the location of RET schools.

Excellence through Partnership - RET Charter

Our Charter is a statement of our mission, values and culture ensuring that the Trust remains true to the founding principles of our collaborative partnership as it grows over time.

Please click this link to read the RET Charter in full.

The core values of Integrity, Ambition and Leading for Legacy underpin the Trust’s continuing development and support its commitment to excellence.

For further information, please access the RET website.