Linwood School
Alma Road, Winton, Bournemouth, BH9 1AJ
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Gemma Talbot
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, 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
- Bournemouth West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 422
- Pupils on roll
- 437
- URN
- 113961
- Local authority
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01202525107
About this school
Linwood School is a community special school in Bournemouth. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 437 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Linwood 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 28 | 29 | 29 |
| 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 | -9.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -7.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -8.30 | - | - |
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 | 31 | 35 | 26 |
| Attainment 8 score | 1.1 | 1.5 | - |
| Progress 8 score | -1.47 -1.99 to -0.96 | -1.73 -2.22 to -1.24 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 3% | 0% | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 3% | 2.9% | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | 0.2 | - |
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 Linwood 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 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 58.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 59% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1.1 | 39.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 1.5 | 38.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | — | 40 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 395 |
| 2023/24 | 386 |
| 2024/25 | 411 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 42.81%
- English as an additional language
- 14.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.1%
- Persistent absence
- 28.71%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Martin's School0.4 miles
Independent schools · Bournemouth
-
Cambian Wing College0.5 miles
Other types · Bournemouth
-
Kings Bournemouth0.8 miles
Independent schools · Bournemouth
-
Park School1.0 miles
Independent schools · Bournemouth
-
Bournemouth University1.3 miles
Universities · Poole
Other schools in Bournemouth
- Cambian Wing College Other types
- Tregonwell Academy Academies
- Avonwood Primary School Primary
- Bearwood Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Bethany Church of England Junior School Primary
- Christ The King Catholic Primary School Primary
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Primary
- Elm Academy Primary
- Heathlands Primary Academy Primary
- Hill View Primary Academy Primary
- Jewell Academy Bournemouth Primary
- King's Park Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Linwood School teach?
- Linwood School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Bournemouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Linwood School?
- The headteacher of Linwood School is Mrs Gemma Talbot, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Linwood School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Linwood 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 Linwood School?
- Linwood School has 437 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is Linwood School full?
- Linwood School has capacity for 422 pupils and 437 on roll (104%), 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 Linwood School a faith school?
- No. Linwood School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Linwood School have?
- The schools register lists Linwood School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; 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 Linwood 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 Linwood School's absence rate?
- Linwood School's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Linwood School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Linwood 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.