The Grove Special School
Grove Gardens, Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 2EN
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Penelope Derries
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- North Northumberland
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 50
- Pupils on roll
- 51
- URN
- 122385
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01289306390
About this school
The Grove Special School is a community special school in Berwick-upon-Tweed. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 51 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 21 May 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 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - | 0% | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in reading | - | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in maths | - | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - | 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 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| 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 Grove Special 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49 |
| 2023/24 | 51 |
| 2024/25 | 52 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 24.39%
- English as an additional language
- 5.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.85%
- Persistent absence
- 26.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Longridge Towers School2.3 miles
Independent schools · Berwick-upon-Tweed
-
Ford Castle Residential Centre9.2 miles
Other types · Berwick-upon-Tweed
-
Prior Park Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Berwick-upon-Tweed
-
Berwick Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Berwick-upon-Tweed
-
Tweedmouth West Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Berwick-upon-Tweed
Other schools in Berwick-upon-Tweed
- Berwick St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Holy Island Church of England Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hugh Joicey Church of England Primary School, Ford Primary
- Norham St Ceolwulfs CofE Controlled Primary School Primary
- Prior Park Primary School Primary
- Scremerston First School Primary
- Spittal Community Primary School Primary
- St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Berwick Primary
- Tweedmouth West Primary School Primary
- Berwick Middle School Middle deemed secondary
- Tweedmouth Community Middle School Middle deemed secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Grove Special School teach?
- The Grove Special School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Berwick-upon-Tweed.
- Who is the headteacher of The Grove Special School?
- The headteacher of The Grove Special School is Mrs Penelope Derries, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Grove Special School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Grove Special 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 The Grove Special School?
- The Grove Special School has 51 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is The Grove Special School full?
- The Grove Special School has capacity for 50 pupils and 51 on roll (102%), 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 Grove Special School a faith school?
- No. The Grove Special School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does The Grove Special School have?
- The schools register lists The Grove Special School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is The Grove Special School's absence rate?
- The Grove Special School's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Grove Special School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Grove Special 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.