Birchwood
Bowen Road, Folkestone, CT19 4FP
- Phase
- Local authority maintained schools
- School type
- Pupil referral unit
- Ages
- 14 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Jane Hollister
- Constituency
- Folkestone and Hythe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 44
- Pupils on roll
- 0
- URN
- 135462
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 03000658450
About this school
Birchwood is a special school in Folkestone. It teaches children aged 14 to 16 and has 0 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Birchwood, 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How Birchwood has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0 |
| 2023/24 | 0 |
| 2024/25 | 0 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 0%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Earlscliffe (Sussex Summer Schools Ltd)0.9 miles
Independent schools · Folkestone
-
School of English Studies1.0 miles
Other types · Folkestone
-
The Beacon Folkestone1.1 miles
Special schools · Folkestone
-
Compass Community School Coastal Park1.2 miles
Special schools · Folkestone
-
Folkestone Beacon Plus1.5 miles
Other types · Folkestone
Other schools in Folkestone
- Compass Community School Coastal Park Special schools
- Folkestone Beacon Plus Other types
- The Beacon Folkestone Special schools
- All Soul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Capel-le-Ferne Primary School Primary
- Castle Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Cheriton Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone Primary
- Folkestone Primary Primary
- Folkestone St. Mary's Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Folkestone, St Martin's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Folkestone, St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Birchwood teach?
- Birchwood teaches children aged 14 to 16. It is a special school in Folkestone.
- Who is the headteacher of Birchwood?
- The headteacher of Birchwood is Ms Jane Hollister, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Birchwood been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Birchwood, 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 Birchwood?
- Birchwood has 0 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 14 to 16.
- Is Birchwood full?
- Birchwood has capacity for 44 pupils and 0 on roll (0%), so it has space against 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 Birchwood a faith school?
- No. Birchwood has no designated religious character.
- Does Birchwood publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Birchwood. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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.