Sir Charles Parsons School
Westbourne Avenue, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE6 4ED
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- The Newcastle Special Schools Trust
- Acting Headteacher
- Ms Karen Parker
- SEN provision
- SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 214
- URN
- 131987
- Local authority
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01912952280
About this school
Sir Charles Parsons School is a foundation special school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 214 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Sir Charles Parsons School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 10 July 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 28 | 33 | 39 |
| 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 Sir Charles Parsons 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 | 15.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 15.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 14.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 205 |
| 2023/24 | 208 |
| 2024/25 | 210 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 74.85%
- English as an additional language
- 26.2%
- Overall absence
- 14.39%
- Persistent absence
- 36.9%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Keelman's Way School1.6 miles
Special schools · Hebburn
-
Groundwork South and North Tyneside1.7 miles
Other types · Hebburn
-
Beacon Hill School1.9 miles
Special schools · North Tyneside
-
Ateres Girls High School2.2 miles
Independent schools · Gateshead
-
Newcastle Preparatory School2.3 miles
Independent schools · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Other schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Brenkley School Special schools
- Emily Wilding Davison School Special schools
- Hadrian School Special schools
- Mary Astell Academy Academies
- Moorbridge Local authority maintained schools
- Newcastle Bridges School Academies
- NHS Choices College Other types
- Northern Counties School Special schools
- Percy Hedley Hedleys College Other types
- Percy Hedley School Special schools
- Thomas Bewick School Academies
- Trinity Academy Newcastle Academies
Common questions
- What ages does Sir Charles Parsons School teach?
- Sir Charles Parsons School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Who is the acting headteacher of Sir Charles Parsons School?
- The acting headteacher of Sir Charles Parsons School is Ms Karen Parker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Sir Charles Parsons School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sir Charles Parsons 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 Sir Charles Parsons School?
- Sir Charles Parsons School has 214 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Sir Charles Parsons School full?
- Sir Charles Parsons School has capacity for 210 pupils and 214 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 Sir Charles Parsons School a faith school?
- No. Sir Charles Parsons School has no designated religious character.
- Is Sir Charles Parsons School part of an academy trust?
- Sir Charles Parsons School is part of The Newcastle Special Schools Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Sir Charles Parsons School have?
- The schools register lists Sir Charles Parsons School's special educational needs provision as: SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Sir Charles Parsons School's absence rate?
- Sir Charles Parsons School's overall absence rate is 14.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sir Charles Parsons School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sir Charles Parsons 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.