Barrs Court School
Barrs Court School is a special academy in Hereford for boys and girls aged 11 to 19. It has 105 pupils, 10 more than it has places for. About 51 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2022.
Barrs Court Road, Hereford, HR1 1EQ01432 265035barrscourtschool.co.ukHeadteacher Callum Palmer headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 22 November 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 23 October 2019 | Ungraded | School remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
16 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. That usually means the year group was too small to publish without identifying children.
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 Herefordshire, County of council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Herefordshire, County of with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (48), Severe learning difficulty (28), Moderate learning difficulty (13), language and communications needs (9), emotional and mental health (4), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 105 | 94 | 88 | 86 | 76 | 118 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 51% | 45% | 42% | 45% | 42% | 30% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 11% | 7% | 6% | 0% | 1% | 2% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.9% | 9.5% | 7.3% | 9.6% | 10.9% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.6% | 7.8% | 6.8% | 8.7% | 10.6% | 5.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.3% | 1.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.3% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 24.2% | 31.1% | 28.7% | 25.0% | 43.6% | 18.2% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0.9 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 13 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 100%, compared with 100% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Thomas Cantilupe CofE Academy | Academy | 500 m | 231 | Report card 2026 | 86 | Compare |
| Herefordshire Pupil Referral Service | Pupil referral unit | 520 m | 60 | Good 2022 | – | Compare |
| Hereford Sixth Form College | Academy 16-19 converter | 600 m | 0 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Herefordshire, Ludlow and North Shropshire College | Further education | 620 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Hereford College of Arts | Further education | 700 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Royal National College for the Blind | Special post 16 institution | 740 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Broadlands Primary School | Council | 810 m | 164 | Good 2022 | 8 | Compare |
| The Beacon College | Free school | 820 m | 39 | Outstanding 2024 | – | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Barrs Court School a good school?
Barrs Court School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in November 2022.
What is Barrs Court School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Barrs Court School outstanding at its last full inspection on 22 November 2022.
How many pupils does Barrs Court School have?
105 pupils aged 11 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 95 places, so it is 111% full.
What is attendance like at Barrs Court School?
Pupils were in school 91.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 24% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Barrs Court School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Barrs Court School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Barrs Court Road, Hereford, HR1 1EQ
- Telephone
- 01432 265035
- Website
- www.barrscourtschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Headteacher Callum Palmer
- Type of school
- Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 11-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Accordia Academies Trust (3 schools)
- Local authority
- Herefordshire, County of
- Ward
- College
- Constituency
- Hereford and South Herefordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 May 2013 (academy converter)
- URN
- 139607 · LAESTAB 8847003 · UKPRN 10041351
- Formerly
- Barrs Court School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- 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, academy accounts return 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.