The Castle School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Primary & Secondary
Post 16
Special school
PUPILS
175
AGES
3 - 19
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Community special school

Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
01635 519771

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Outstanding
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(15/01/2019)
Full Report - All Reports

Special schools provide a unique and distinctive educational environment to meet the needs of the pupils in their community. Undertaking standard tests may not be appropriate and we do not show performance data for special schools.

View exam results via the link below and contact the school to ask about measuring pupil progress.

A Parent's Guide to Choosing a Special School

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85%
NATIONAL AVG. 93%
Happiness Rating

Ofsted Parent View

6.1:1
NATIONAL AVG. 19.9:1
Pupil/Teacher ratio
29%
NATIONAL AVG. 17.7%
Persistent Absence
8.6%
NATIONAL AVG. 22.0%
Pupils first language
not English
45.8%
NATIONAL AVG. 25.9%
Free school meals
Love Lane
Donnington
Newbury
RG14 2JG
0163542976

School Description

The school caters for pupils with a wide range of special educational needs that include severe and profound learning difficulties and those with a diagnosis of autism. All the pupils have a statement of special educational needs. Almost all the pupils are of White British heritage. There are very few pupils from minority ethnic groups and very few pupils speak English as an additional language. About two thirds of pupils are boys. The proportion of pupils eligible for additional government funding, known as the pupil premium is above average. This is funding intended to support eligible pupils who are entitled to free school meals or are who looked after by the local authority. All Year 7 pupils are eligible for additional government ‘Catch-up’ funding to improve their literacy and numeracy. The school does not enter pupils early for public examinations. The school is on three sites. The main school provides for pupils aged 5−16. There is a separate nursery, where pupils attend part time and students in the sixth form are taught in specialist facilities at Newbury College What does the school need to do to improve further? Ensure that teachers and other staff record the small steps in progress made by pupils during lessons, in a consistent format so that: records can be more effectively shared with other teachers as pupils move through the school senior leaders can access and make use of information on the pupils’ progress, more easily.

The Castle School Parent Reviews



86% Parents Recommend This School
Strongly Agree 71% Agree 14% Disagree 0% Strongly Disagree 0% Don't Know 14% {"strongly_agree"=>71, "agree"=>14, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>14} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 64% Agree 36% Disagree 0% Strongly Disagree 0% Don't Know 0% {"strongly_agree"=>64, "agree"=>36, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 50% Agree 36% Disagree 7% Strongly Disagree 7% Don't Know 0% {"strongly_agree"=>50, "agree"=>36, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>7, "dont_know"=>0} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 64% Agree 29% Disagree 0% Strongly Disagree 0% Don't Know 7% {"strongly_agree"=>64, "agree"=>29, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>7} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 57% Agree 29% Disagree 7% Strongly Disagree 7% Don't Know 0% {"strongly_agree"=>57, "agree"=>29, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>7, "dont_know"=>0} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 36% Agree 14% Disagree 29% Strongly Disagree 0% Don't Know 21% {"strongly_agree"=>36, "agree"=>14, "disagree"=>29, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>21} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 50% Agree 29% Disagree 14% Strongly Disagree 0% Don't Know 7% {"strongly_agree"=>50, "agree"=>29, "disagree"=>14, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>7} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 50% Agree 29% Disagree 7% Strongly Disagree 7% Don't Know 7% {"strongly_agree"=>50, "agree"=>29, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>7, "dont_know"=>7} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 64% Agree 21% Disagree 0% Strongly Disagree 7% Don't Know 7% {"strongly_agree"=>64, "agree"=>21, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>7, "dont_know"=>7} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 64% Agree 21% Disagree 7% Strongly Disagree 0% Don't Know 7% {"strongly_agree"=>64, "agree"=>21, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>7} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Strongly Agree 50% Agree 50% Disagree 0% Strongly Disagree 0% Don't Know 0% {"strongly_agree"=>50, "agree"=>50, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019
Yes 86% No 14% {"yes"=>86, "no"=>14} Figures based on 14 responses up to 15-01-2019

Responses taken from Ofsted Parent View

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