The Forest School
Park Lane, Knaresborough, HG5 0DQ
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 2 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WELLSPRING ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Shona Crichton
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Wellspring Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Harrogate and Knaresborough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 127
- Pupils on roll
- 155
- URN
- 147819
- Local authority
- North Yorkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01423864583
About this school
The Forest School is a special academy in Knaresborough. It teaches children aged 2 to 16 and has 155 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Forest School, 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- 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 | 12 | 12 | 3 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -20.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -18.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -20.40 | - | - |
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 | 16 | 15 | 24 |
| 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 Forest 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 | North Yorkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 56.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 58.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | — | 59.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 136 |
| 2023/24 | 147 |
| 2024/25 | 148 |
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)
- 45.27%
- English as an additional language
- 6.8%
- Overall absence
- 10.25%
- Persistent absence
- 29.05%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Springwater Academy1.9 miles
Academies · Harrogate
-
Henshaws College2.2 miles
Other types · Harrogate
-
Springwell Harrogate3.3 miles
Academies · Harrogate
-
Strive for Education3.6 miles
Special schools · Harrogate
-
Harrogate Language Academy4.0 miles
Other types · Harrogate
Other schools in Knaresborough
- Aspin Park Academy Primary
- Goldsborough Church of England Primary School Primary
- Knaresborough St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Meadowside Academy Primary
- Scotton Lingerfield Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Primary School Knaresborough, A Voluntary Catholic Academy Primary
- Staveley Community Primary School Primary
- King James's School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does The Forest School teach?
- The Forest School teaches children aged 2 to 16. It is a special school in Knaresborough.
- Who is the headteacher of The Forest School?
- The headteacher of The Forest School is Mrs Shona Crichton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Forest School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Forest 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 The Forest School?
- The Forest School has 155 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 16.
- Is The Forest School full?
- The Forest School has capacity for 127 pupils and 155 on roll (122%), 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 Forest School a faith school?
- No. The Forest School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Forest School part of an academy trust?
- The Forest School is part of WELLSPRING ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Forest School have?
- The schools register lists The Forest School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Forest 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 2023/24. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is The Forest School's absence rate?
- The Forest School's overall absence rate is 10.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Forest School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Forest 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 10 July 2026.