Lonsdale School
Brittain Way, Stevenage, SG2 8UT
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 3 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claudia Thiele
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- PD - Physical Disability
- Constituency
- Stevenage
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 132
- Pupils on roll
- 128
- URN
- 117679
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01438726999
About this school
Lonsdale School is a community special school in Stevenage. It teaches children aged 3 to 18 and has 128 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Lonsdale 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 January 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 9 | 8 | 5 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -8.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -10.50 | - | - |
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 | 12 | 10 | 13 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | 0.3 |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | 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 Lonsdale 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 | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | — | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 15.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 15.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 112 |
| 2023/24 | 112 |
| 2024/25 | 129 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 38.83%
- English as an additional language
- 4.7%
- Overall absence
- 15.66%
- Persistent absence
- 53.92%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stevenage Education Support Centre0.4 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Stevenage
-
Larwood School0.7 miles
Academies · Stevenage
-
Greenside School1.0 miles
Special schools · Stevenage
-
The Valley School1.1 miles
Special schools · Stevenage
-
East Hall School3.6 miles
Special schools · Hitchin
Other schools in Stevenage
- Greenside School Special schools
- Larwood School Academies
- Stevenage Education Support Centre Local authority maintained schools
- The Valley School Special schools
- Peartree Way Nursery School Nursery
- Almond Hill Junior School Primary
- Ardeley St Lawrence Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Ashtree Primary Academy Primary
- Aston St Mary's Church of England Aided Primary School Primary
- Bedwell Primary School Primary
- Benington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Broom Barns Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Lonsdale School teach?
- Lonsdale School teaches children aged 3 to 18. It is a special school in Stevenage.
- Who is the headteacher of Lonsdale School?
- The headteacher of Lonsdale School is Mrs Claudia Thiele, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Lonsdale School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Lonsdale 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 Lonsdale School?
- Lonsdale School has 128 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 18.
- Is Lonsdale School full?
- Lonsdale School has capacity for 132 pupils and 128 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Lonsdale School a faith school?
- No. Lonsdale School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Lonsdale School have?
- The schools register lists Lonsdale School's special educational needs provision as: PD - Physical Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Lonsdale 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 2023/24. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Lonsdale School's absence rate?
- Lonsdale School's overall absence rate is 15.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Lonsdale School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Lonsdale 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 30 June 2026.