High Close School
Wiltshire Road, Wokingham, RG40 1TS
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Non-maintained special school
- Ages
- 7 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Wendy Gosling (Principal)
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Wokingham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 94
- Pupils on roll
- 68
- URN
- 110181
- Local authority
- Wokingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01189785767
About this school
High Close School is a special school in Wokingham. It teaches children aged 7 to 18 and has 68 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected High Close School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 13 September 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 16 | 18 | 15 |
| Attainment 8 score | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -3.39 -4.16 to -2.63 | -2.52 -3.24 to -1.81 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How High Close School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wokingham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 2.1 | 38.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 1.8 | 43.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 1.8 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 16.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 85 |
| 2023/24 | 85 |
| 2024/25 | 73 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 48.61%
- English as an additional language
- 2.7%
- Overall absence
- 12.12%
- Persistent absence
- 38.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Foundry College0.4 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Wokingham
-
CAMHS Phoenix School0.8 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Wokingham
-
Chiltern Way Academy Wokingham0.8 miles
Academies · Wokingham
-
Ludgrove School1.2 miles
Independent schools
-
Luckley House School1.3 miles
Independent schools
Other schools in Wokingham
- CAMHS Phoenix School Local authority maintained schools
- Chiltern Way Academy Wokingham Academies
- Foundry College Local authority maintained schools
- Hawthorn Academy Free Schools
- Oak Tree School Free Schools
- Odyssey House School Special schools
- All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bearwood Primary School Primary
- Emmbrook Infant School Primary
- Emmbrook Junior School Primary
- Evendons Primary School Primary
- Finchampstead CofE VA Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does High Close School teach?
- High Close School teaches children aged 7 to 18. It is a special school in Wokingham.
- Who is the headteacher of High Close School?
- The headteacher of High Close School is Mrs Wendy Gosling (Principal), as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has High Close School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected High Close School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at High Close School?
- High Close School has 68 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 18.
- Is High Close School full?
- High Close School has capacity for 94 pupils and 68 on roll (72%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is High Close School a faith school?
- No. High Close School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does High Close School have?
- The schools register lists High Close School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have High Close School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 2.1 in 2022/23 and 1.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is High Close School's absence rate?
- High Close School's overall absence rate is 12.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are High Close School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, High Close School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 24 July 2026.