The Castle School
Love Lane, Donnington, Newbury, RG14 2JG
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Jon Hewitt
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Newbury
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 212
- Pupils on roll
- 228
- URN
- 110182
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 0163542976
About this school
The Castle School is a community special school in Newbury. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 228 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Castle School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 25 April 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 13 | 14 | 11 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -4.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.90 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 18 | 16 | 15 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
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 The Castle 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 | West Berkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 55.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 175 |
| 2023/24 | 180 |
| 2024/25 | 199 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 46.2%
- English as an additional language
- 8.5%
- Overall absence
- 12.56%
- Persistent absence
- 42.04%
Location
Nearby schools
-
iCollege Alternative Provision0.8 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Newbury
-
Northcroft Vocational School1.0 miles
Special schools · Newbury
-
Engaging Potential1.4 miles
Special schools · Newbury
-
Mary Hare School1.4 miles
Special schools · Newbury
-
St Gabriel's School2.7 miles
Independent schools · Berkshire
Other schools in Newbury
- Engaging Potential Special schools
- iCollege Alternative Provision Local authority maintained schools
- Mary Hare School Special schools
- Northcroft Vocational School Special schools
- Victoria Park Nursery School Nursery
- Beedon C.E. (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Brightwalton C.E. Aided Primary School Primary
- Burghclere Primary School Primary
- Chaddleworth St Andrew's C.E. Primary School Primary
- Chieveley Primary School Primary
- Compton C.E. Primary School Primary
- Ecchinswell and Sydmonton Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Castle School teach?
- The Castle School teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is a special school in Newbury.
- Who is the headteacher of The Castle School?
- The headteacher of The Castle School is Mr Jon Hewitt, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Castle School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Castle 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 The Castle School?
- The Castle School has 228 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is The Castle School full?
- The Castle School has capacity for 212 pupils and 228 on roll (108%), so it is at or above 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 The Castle School a faith school?
- No. The Castle School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does The Castle School have?
- The schools register lists The Castle School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Castle School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is The Castle School's absence rate?
- The Castle School's overall absence rate is 12.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Castle School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Castle 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 29 June 2026.