Lakeside School
Lakeside School is a council special school in Welwyn Garden City for boys and girls aged 2 to 19. It has 115 pupils, 10 more than it has places for. About 29 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2023.
Lemsford Lane, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6YN01707 327410lakeside.herts.sch.ukMrs Lynnette Johnson headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 19 July 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
11 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.
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
10 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 10 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – | 64% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – | 10% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
A level and sixth-form results, 2019
16 students finished sixth-form courses.
All sixth-form measures, year by year
| Measure | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Students | 16 |
| Average A level grade | NE |
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 Hertfordshire 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, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health, 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 Hertfordshire with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (106), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (9).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 115 | 112 | 107 | 92 | 87 | 67 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 31% | 32% | 34% | 33% | 32% | 31% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 22% | 21% | 22% | 24% | 24% | 21% |
| 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 89.3% 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 | 10.7% | 10.7% | 10.7% | 11.5% | 8.8% | 10.5% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.3% | 9.3% | 9.7% | 10.9% | 8.7% | 10.4% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.5% | 1.4% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 36.7% | 36.3% | 34.2% | 37.2% | 24.6% | 33.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 1.5 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 11 pupils who left in 2015/16 were a year later.
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 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanborough School | Academy | 290 m | 1,287 | Good 2023 | 72 | Compare |
| Applecroft School | Academy | 710 m | 454 | Good 2023 | 88 | Compare |
| St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford | Church of England | 830 m | 102 | Good 2023 | 40 | Compare |
| Creswick Academy | Academy | 1.0 miles | 325 | Requires improvement 2022 | 2 | Compare |
| Our Lady Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 1.0 miles | 204 | Report card 2026 | 70 | Compare |
| Peartree Primary School | Academy | 1.1 miles | 184 | Not inspected | 83 | Compare |
| Ludwick Nursery School | Local authority nursery school | 1.2 miles | 177 | Outstanding 2023 | – | Compare |
| Green Lanes Primary School | Council | 1.2 miles | 413 | Good 2023 | 66 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Lakeside School a good school?
Lakeside School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in July 2023.
What is Lakeside School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Lakeside School outstanding at its last full inspection on 19 July 2023.
How good are Lakeside School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.
How many pupils does Lakeside School have?
115 pupils aged 2 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 105 places, so it is 110% full.
What is attendance like at Lakeside School?
Pupils were in school 89.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 37% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Lakeside School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Lakeside School have a sixth form?
Yes. The average A level grade in 2019 was NE.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Lemsford Lane, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6YN
- Telephone
- 01707 327410
- Website
- www.lakeside.herts.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lynnette Johnson
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 2-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward
- Handside
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 117680 · LAESTAB 9197023 · UKPRN 10016345
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.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- 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, 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.