Castle School, Cambridge
Courtney Way, Cambridge, CB4 2EE
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Charlotte Whysall
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Cambridge
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 234
- Pupils on roll
- 233
- URN
- 134972
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01223442400
About this school
Castle School, Cambridge is a community special school in Cambridge. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 233 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- 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 | 18 | 11 | 23 |
| 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 | - | - | 88.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | 85.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.90 | - | - |
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 | 22 | 19 | 11 |
| Attainment 8 score | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.53 -2.18 to -0.87 | -1.57 -2.34 to -0.80 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.0 | 0.0 | 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 Castle School, Cambridge has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 55.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1.5 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 0.5 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 0.2 | 36.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 219 |
| 2023/24 | 238 |
| 2024/25 | 235 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
- 14 May 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report17 May 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.41%
- English as an additional language
- 20.4%
- Overall absence
- 12.03%
- Persistent absence
- 37.23%
Location
Nearby schools
-
OA - Cambridge0.2 miles
Academies · Cambridge
-
Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS and CSVPA)0.5 miles
Independent schools · Cambridge
-
St John's College School1.0 miles
Independent schools · Cambridge
-
University of Cambridge1.0 miles
Universities · Cambridge
-
King's College School1.3 miles
Independent schools · Cambridge
Other schools in Cambridge
- Granta School Special schools
- Gretton School Special schools
- Holme Court School Special schools
- OA - Cambridge Academies
- Papworth Hall School Special schools
- Pilgrim Pathways School Local authority maintained schools
- Selwyn Hall School Special schools
- The Centre School Academies
- Brunswick Nursery School Nursery
- Colleges Nursery School Nursery
- Histon Early Years Centre Nursery
- Homerton Early Years Centre Nursery
Common questions
- What year groups does Castle School, Cambridge teach?
- Castle School, Cambridge teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Cambridge.
- Who is the headteacher of Castle School, Cambridge?
- The headteacher of Castle School, Cambridge is Ms Charlotte Whysall, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Castle School, Cambridge last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Castle School, Cambridge, 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 Castle School, Cambridge?
- Castle School, Cambridge has 233 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is Castle School, Cambridge full?
- Castle School, Cambridge has capacity for 234 pupils and 233 on roll (100%), 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 Castle School, Cambridge a faith school?
- No. Castle School, Cambridge has no designated religious character.
- How have Castle School, Cambridge'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 Castle School, Cambridge's absence rate?
- Castle School, Cambridge's overall absence rate is 12% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Castle School, Cambridge's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Castle School, Cambridge'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 1 July 2026.