Ridgeway

House Colour: Red

Who’s Who?

Head of Ridgeway House – Mr J Vann

Ridgeway Tutors 2026-2027

Year 7 - Mr T Godfray

Year 8 - Mrs K Cooke

Year 9 - Ms C Parr

Year 10 - Mr M Luff & Mrs V Quinton

Year 11 - Mrs F Hyland

Year 12 - Mrs H Williams

Year 13 - Mr D Pilgrim

Ridgeway House was one of the first four houses in the early days of the school and is named after Bishop Charles John Ridgeway who was Bishop of Chichester from 1908 to 1919. After becoming Bishop of Chichester he restored the chapel in the Bishop’s Palace which is marked by a brass inscription on its West Wall.

What is Ridgeway House like?

We pride ourselves on our individuality and celebrate each person in our form as a unique identity. We are inclusive and will always support each other. We are resilient and resourceful and mindful of those less fortunate than ourselves.

Regular finalists in House Drama, keen academics, dancers, writers and musicians, as well as sailors, rugby, biking, hockey, netball, air cadets etc.

We support charities such as Diabetes UK, Spirit FM Xmas Appeal, Chichester Foodbanks with Chestnut Tree Hospice being our House charity.

A review of Ridgeway House 2025-2026

What another busy and rewarding year it has been for all of us in Ridgeway House. We have seen our Year 7s settle well into school life through the Isle of Wight residential back in October and more recently, have celebrated our lovely Y11s through their leavers’ assembly (with embarrassing photos) before climaxing in a fantastic prom on Friday 26th June. The students were exemplary in the way they conducted themselves during the busy exam period and we wish them good luck for results day in August. We hope to see many of our Ridgeway students back in Sixth Form in September. 

Class of 2021 – Thank you and good luck!

Likewise, we wish all of Year 13 Ridgeway luck with their A-level results and in their next steps as part of embracing life in all its fullness. They too have been a credit to our House, school and themselves.  Regardless of where their next steps take them, they will forever remain a part of the Bishop Luffa alumni.

Isle of Wight October 2025

As ever, October meant the traditional Isle of Wight residential from Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th October. Like every year, this was a hugely enjoyable experience for our new Year 7s giving them the chance to make new friends and bond with each other; whether this was taking to the stage in the Shanklin Theatre, dashing through the woods or seeing the lions at the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary. The students were impeccably behaved throughout our time away and were a credit to themselves and you, their families. 

House Captains

This year I have been ably supported by Mary-Jane Zwinkels and Woody Willis as House Captains. They have all contributed significantly: from running charity events and assemblies, to writing and directing the House Drama and keeping the display board up-to-date. Together they have been brilliant in driving our House ethos and keeping me organised!  Thanks to all of them and good luck in Year 13.

Reindeer Run

Friday 5th December saw us undertake our annual Reindeer Run raising money for Chestnut Tree House. Students donned the usual red noses and antlers and completed laps of the playground. I managed to crawl/wheeze my way through approximately 6 laps ably supported (lapped) by the students and the vociferous Miss Hyland!  Thanks to everyone who took part.

In total we raised £270 for our House charity.  The students deserve all the credit with a special mention also to the parents and carers for providing such generous sponsorship to this wonderful cause.

Shoebox Appeal

December ended with our other annual event – the Rotary Club Shoebox Appeal which collates much needed gifts for disadvantaged children in places such as Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and Romania plus children stranded in Refugee Camps. Along with other local schools, more than 250 shoeboxes were filled and delivered in time for Christmas. Again, many thanks to the generosity of our students and their families; it is very humbling and epitomizes our Christian ethos. 

Sports Day 11th July 2025

Sports Day took place in very warm weather on Friday 11th July.  As is now becoming tradition, Ridgeway dominated the day and were crowned Overall Sports Day Winners.  We now have the pressure of retaining it again this year!

Charity Update

Next year we will continue to support Chestnut Tree House through our charity events.  They are truly humbling in the work they do for young people with life-limiting conditions and the support they offer to families.  If you get the chance, take a look at their website for an idea of the work they do: https://www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/  In addition, we are always grateful of donations that we can use to raffle to raise money.  This can be anything from chocolate, toys, vouchers etc.  All gratefully received.

House Colours and Subject Colours

As part of a long-standing Luffa tradition, we announced our House Colours for Year 10s in our final House assembly and awarded them with some commemorative certificates and colourful badges which they will wear with pride. We also awarded Subject Colours which were also humbly received – well done to those for that. This is very well deserved and is a significant achievement for any Bishop Luffa student.  House Colour winners this year are: Isla Brown, Ella Blamire, Joshua Ellis, Julian Zwinkels and Nathan White.

Year 6 Induction

On Wednesday 1st July, the newest members of the Ridgeway ‘family’ joined us for Induction Day. Year 6 spent a day getting to know their new peers, form tutor, Head of House in their allocated Houses. We very much look forward to welcoming the new Year 7s full-time to Ridgeway in September.

Notable Achievements 2025-26

Eden Thwaites 9 Ridgeway Eden’s team, PSG Spice, were awarded a bronze medal for the TeamGym micro–British Championships today!  Eden executed a tuck front, walkout, round off flick on the tumble track, a one and a half twist off the trampette, followed by a double front!
Elsie Huxtable 9 Ridgeway Elsie had a fabulous day in London at the Canary Wharf Sea Lanes pool launch.  It was a great experience for her and she got to meet many people in the swimming world, along with the Deputy Mayor who spent a lot of time chatting to her. She was lucky enough to be used in the whole press campaign; they had her swimming up and down for filming and taking promotional photos.  Elsie featured on lots of social media platforms and in many online papers, including The Times, The Express and The Mirror.
Interhouse Dance 2026 Ridgeway won the Participants Cup and Overall winners of Interhouse Dance 2026!
Olive Coveney 9 Ridgeway Well done to Olive Coveney, 9Ri, for a fantastic ice-skating season with Solent Synchro ice skating club.  She has finished the season with a variety of gold, silver and bronze medals, competing in competitions across the country. Her team have podium placed at every competition; a fantastic achievement.  Olive has just returned from the British Championships where the team placed silver, earning a team PB along the way.
Ayla Tran 8 Ridgeway Recently, Ayla performed at SkoolFest at the Worthing Pavilion Theatre, taking to the same stage that has hosted legendary artists such as Jimi Hendrix and The Who. She performed an original song that she wrote herself and absolutely brought the house down, proudly representing Bishop Luffa. As a result of her performance, she has secured studio time at the Northbrook recording studios this summer, as well as a professional photoshoot with a local photographer who was so impressed by her music that they wanted to support her journey.
Gracie Huxtable 8 Ridgeway Gracie was selected to represent Sussex at the regional sports hall finals. Team Sussex u13 girls did amazingly, finishing 3rd place with a bronze medal.
Jack Challen 9 Ridgeway This season Jack has won:  Arundel Cricket Club youth awards:  ●     U13 All rounder ●     U14s Batting award ●     U14s Bowling award ●     Arundel Cricket Club men’s awards:  ●     3rd team Batting award for most runs,  ●     3rd team Player of the year  ●     Club young player of the year  League award:  ●     Division 12 top run scorer with 412 runs

Thank you!

Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful Ridgeway tutors – Miss Duffell and Miss Cooke (7Ri), Miss Parr (8Ri), Mr Luff (9Ri), Miss Hyland (10Ri), Mr Godfray (11Ri), Mr Pilgrim (12Ri) and Mrs Williams (13Ri) – they have been an ever-present, positive influence in the lives of Ridgeway students and they deserve all of the credit for the successes of Ridgeway House. I genuinely could not do my job without them. In September, Miss Duffell is leaving to become the Head of House for Andrewes; thanks so much to her for everything she has done this year with 7 Ridgeway and for putting up with me. She will be sorely missed by all of us, not least 7 Ridgeway who from September will be ably skippered by Miss Cooke at the helm.   

I am already eagerly anticipating September for what will undoubtedly be another successful year for Ridgeway, which I am very proud to be the Head of.

James Vann, Head of Ridgeway House