Richmond Park Academy

What Richmond Park Academy does

Richmond Park Academy (legally and commercially branded as 'Lift Richmond Park') is a state-funded secondary school and sixth form located on Park Avenue, East Sheen, London SW14 8RG, United Kingdom. The school delivers education across Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, and Key Stage 5 (Years 7–11 plus the Sixth Form), preparing students for GCSEs, A-Levels, and onward progression to higher education or employment. Curriculum coverage spans all standard secondary subjects with explicit programmes in reading and literacy, careers guidance, SEND support, safeguarding, and personal development, supplemented by an extensive extra-curricular and trips programme. The principal is Mr J Whelan, and the school employs approximately 80 staff members. The school celebrated its best ever GCSE outcomes at the start of the 2025/26 academic year.

The school operates within the Lift Schools multi-academy trust, a network of 57 primary, secondary, and special schools educating more than 33,000 pupils across England, spanning from Middlesbrough to Devon to Essex to the Isle of Wight. The trust reports that the majority of its schools are rated 'good' or 'outstanding' by Ofsted; Lift Richmond Park itself carries a current Ofsted 'Good' rating and a separate WCEN Accredited School status. Governance, back-office, and shared services flow from the trust structure, while admissions follow the standard UK state-funded process via the local authority coordinated admissions scheme.

Revenue is derived from per-pupil government funding allocations and supplementary grants from the UK Department for Education; the school does not charge tuition. Ancillary income from school meals, uniform, trips, and after-school clubs is processed via ParentPay and represents minor incremental revenue. Marketing and distribution are community-led: open mornings from 8:45am, school tours, an open-door observation policy for parents, newsletters, and an active social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, YouTube, and TikTok. The school's web presence runs on the Genius (genius.online) platform. There is no AI/ML capability disclosed in the source material, and no proprietary technology stack beyond standard educational services.

Name

Richmond Park Academy

Legal name

Lift Richmond Park

Website

https://richmondparkacademy.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Richmond Park Academy is a state-funded secondary school and sixth form in East Sheen, London, serving students aged 11–18 within the Lift Schools multi-academy trust (57 schools, 33,000+ pupils). Funded through UK per-pupil government allocations, it offers GCSE and A-Level programmes with enrichment, careers, and SEND support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. State Education Funding: As a state-funded academy within the Lift Schools trust, the school receives government funding for education delivery. Revenue is derived from per-pupil funding allocations and additional government grants for educational programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lift Richmond Park is a state-funded secondary school and sixth form that delivers full-time education to students from Year 7 through Year 13. The school provides a traditional yet forward-thinking curriculum combining disciplined classroom learning with an extensive personal development, extracurricular and enrichment programme. It is part of the Lift Schools multi-academy trust and is fully government-funded, with no tuition fees charged to families.

Product overview

Lift Richmond Park is a secondary school and sixth form offering a unified educational service built on traditional discipline and uniform values combined with forward-thinking curriculum development. The core product is secondary education (Years 7-11) delivering GCSE programmes, complemented by a Sixth Form module offering A-Level and post-16 education with Oxbridge preparation. Supporting modules include Extra-Curricular Activities (after-school clubs, trips), Curriculum and Subjects (KS3, KS4, KS5), Careers Programme, and Support Services (SEND, health, wellbeing, safeguarding). The school emphasises whole-child development alongside academic attainment, all delivered under the Lift Schools multi-academy trust umbrella.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Core Secondary Education (Years 7-11, GCSE) State-funded secondary school education delivered across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, culminating in GCSEs, focused on academic progress and attainment alongside an extensive personal development programme covering cultural awareness and whole-child development.
• Sixth Form (Post-16, A-Levels) Post-16 education for students aged 16-18 offering A-Levels with a strong Oxbridge legacy, creative and enriching activities, inspirational teaching and a highly personable ethos, preparing students for higher education or the world of work.

Quantifiable outcome

• Best ever GCSE outcomes achieved for 2025/26 academic year

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ParentPayminorOthersParentPay is a payment platform used by the school for parents to pay for school meals, trips, and other services. This is a service provider relationship rather than a strategic partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Grey Court School: A neighbouring state secondary school in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, competing for the same catchment families and offering a broadly comparable GCSE and sixth-form curriculum.
• Christ's School, Richmond: A nearby secondary school within the same Lift Schools multi-academy trust, serving the same Richmond borough catchment with a comparable state-funded secondary and sixth-form offer.
• The Tiffin School: A high-performing Kingston-based state grammar school with a strong sixth form and Oxbridge record — the most direct competitor on the 'results + Oxbridge legacy' positioning that Lift Richmond Park markets.
• Twickenham School: A London state secondary school in the adjacent Twickenham area, serving a similar demographic of families with a comparable KS3–KS5 academic and enrichment proposition.
• Waldegrave School: A nearby state secondary and sixth form in the Twickenham area of the same London borough catchment, competing for the same families with a comparable academic and enrichment profile.

Broad incumbents

• Ormiston Academies Trust: A national multi-academy trust operating dozens of secondary schools across England, comparable as a trust-level peer in the same state secondary sector with overlapping geographies.
• United Learning: A large national multi-academy trust running a portfolio of state and independent secondary schools across England, comparable as a broader incumbent peer in trust-scale secondary education.
• Harris Federation: One of the largest UK multi-academy trusts, operating many secondary and sixth-form schools across London and the South East — the broad incumbent against which Lift Schools/Richmond Park Academy is benchmarked on trust scale and Ofsted performance.
• Ark Schools: A national education charity running a network of academies across England, comparable as a broader incumbent operating secondary schools at scale with a similar results-driven ethos.
• E-ACT: A multi-academy trust running a portfolio of secondary schools across England, comparable as a broader incumbent peer for Lift Schools in operating model, scale and geographic spread.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/lift_richmond_park_
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/richmond-park-academy

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Richmond Park Academy