Castle Hill School, Newcastle Under Lyme
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 8 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
Castle Hill School excels at building strong relationships with pupils and helping them feel safe and valued. The school's personal development programme is outstanding, with pupils gaining real-world experiences, exploring careers through visits to employers, and developing understanding of the wider world. Pupils also gain valuable outdoor qualifications and show marked improvements in attendance after joining the school.
Key Strengths
- Excellent personal development - pupils gain real experiences, build career portfolios, and develop understanding of British values through community involvement
- Strong safeguarding culture where safety is everyone's responsibility and pupils feel secure
- Positive relationships between staff and pupils help new students settle quickly and improve attendance
- Effective outdoor education programme with pupils gaining qualifications in bushcraft, sailing, climbing and first aid
- Staff feel valued and supported with good professional development opportunities
Areas for Improvement
- Academic achievement is too variable - pupils are not making enough progress, particularly in writing where many need help with basic skills like pencil grip and letter formation
- Teaching of the new academic curriculum is inconsistent because some teachers lack secure subject knowledge
- The new curriculum and assessment system need more time to embed fully across all subjects
- More professional development needed for teachers on how to adapt teaching to individual pupil needs
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have created an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified and managed, making pupils safer and helping them feel secure.
Extracurricular Activities
Bushcraft, sailing, climbing, archery, food hygiene qualifications, first aid qualifications, nature surveys, community involvement
Castle Hill School is a special needs school where all pupils have been identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school has recently introduced a new curriculum and is working to improve teaching quality and pupils' academic achievement.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
0.0
Avg class size
0
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
85%
Available places
17 pupils
20 capacity
3 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Newcastle Under Lyme
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Newcastle Under Lyme
Admissions Demand - Staffordshire
Places available
8,849
Applications
7,846
Got 1st preference
91.6%
Got preferred school
98.6%
Secondary admissions across Staffordshire (2025/26)
Inspection History(5)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
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