Ancora House School
Ancora House School is a pupil referral unit in Chester for boys and girls aged 11 to 18. It has 19 pupils and room for 30. About 0 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2023.
Countess of Chester Health Park, Liverpool Road, Chester, CH2 1BQ01244 397598ancorahouseschool.co.ukMrs Amanda Lacey headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 11 May 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Cheshire West and Chester council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (15), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 19 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 11% | 12% | 21% | 25% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 6% | 14% | 50% | 60% | 100% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 94% | 86% | 50% | 40% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College | Council | 980 m | 170 | Good 2024 | – | Compare |
| Mill View Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 242 | Outstanding 2024 | 99 | Compare |
| University of Chester | Higher education institutions | 0.8 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| St Theresa's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 0.8 miles | 179 | Good 2024 | 26 | Compare |
| Upton Heath CofE Primary School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 323 | Good 2024 | 41 | Compare |
| Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 0.8 miles | 369 | Good 2023 | 43 | Compare |
| The Firs School | Independent | 0.9 miles | 144 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Newton Primary School | Council | 0.9 miles | 369 | Requires improvement 2023 | 18 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Ancora House School a good school?
Ancora House School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in May 2023.
What is Ancora House School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Ancora House School outstanding at its last full inspection on 11 May 2023.
How many pupils does Ancora House School have?
19 pupils aged 11 to 18 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 30 places, so it is 63% full.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Countess of Chester Health Park, Liverpool Road, Chester, CH2 1BQ
- Telephone
- 01244 397598
- Website
- ancorahouseschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Amanda Lacey
- Type of school
- Pupil referral unit (Pupil referral unit, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 11-18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Ward
- Upton
- Constituency
- Chester North and Neston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2004 (new provision)
- URN
- 134766 · LAESTAB 8961103 · UKPRN 10016938
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.