Lakeside School
Lemsford Lane, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6YN
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lynnette Johnson
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 115
- URN
- 117680
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01707327410
About this school
Lakeside School is a community special school in Welwyn Garden City. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 115 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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 19 July 2023, 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 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 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 | - | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
| 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 Lakeside 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 | 0% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 92 |
| 2023/24 | 107 |
| 2024/25 | 112 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 31.31%
- English as an additional language
- 21.4%
- Overall absence
- 10.74%
- Persistent absence
- 36.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
James Marks Academy2.0 miles
Free Schools · Welwyn Garden City
-
Knightsfield School2.2 miles
Academies · Welwyn Garden City
-
Southfield School2.3 miles
Special schools · Hatfield
-
Sherrardswood School2.6 miles
Independent schools · Welwyn
-
University of Hertfordshire2.8 miles
Universities · Hatfield
Other schools in Welwyn Garden City
- James Marks Academy Free Schools
- Knightsfield School Academies
- Ludwick Nursery School Nursery
- Applecroft School Primary
- Commonswood Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Creswick Academy Primary
- Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Holwell Primary School Primary
- Homerswood Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School Primary
- Panshanger Primary School Primary
- Peartree Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Lakeside School teach?
- Lakeside School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Welwyn Garden City.
- Who is the headteacher of Lakeside School?
- The headteacher of Lakeside School is Mrs Lynnette Johnson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Lakeside School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Lakeside 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 big is Lakeside School?
- Lakeside School has 115 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is Lakeside School full?
- Lakeside School has capacity for 105 pupils and 115 on roll (110%), 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 Lakeside School a faith school?
- No. Lakeside School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Lakeside School have?
- The schools register lists Lakeside School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Lakeside 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 Lakeside School's absence rate?
- Lakeside School's overall absence rate is 10.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Lakeside School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Lakeside 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.