School Chooser

River Tees Academy Grangetown

Special · ages 5-19MixedFree school58 pupilsSixth formMiddlesbroughRedcar and Cleveland
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, June 2025
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance87.4%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families74%Far more than most schools
Places42 spare58 pupils, 100 places
Pupils per teacher4.6School workforce census

River Tees Academy Grangetown is a special free school in Middlesbrough for boys and girls aged 5 to 19. It has 58 pupils and room for 100. About 74 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

170a Overdale Road, Middlesbrough, TS3 7EA01642 203873grangetown.rtmat.org.uk/app/os#!/homeMrs Leanne Chilton headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 10 June 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

8 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score17.1
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure2025Redcar and ClevelandEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 118
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 817.144.746.8
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%46%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%66%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score1.023.974.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%38%41%

Subjects

Results came out for 5 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

What is taught here

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Mathematics80%0%0%53%
English Literature80%0%0%58%
English Language80%0%0%54%
Combined Science80%0%0%36%
Art and Design80%25%50%58%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

3 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.

Reached the expected level at 11Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected levelOfficial name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023Redcar and ClevelandEngland
Pupils tested333

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.

Getting a place

Open to all. There is no entrance test.

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 Redcar and Cleveland council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll58Census January 2026
Places10058% full
Pupils from low-income families74%74% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English2%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%58 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)80%£51,300 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls45 / 13
White British pupils91%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (33), Autistic spectrum disorder (19), Moderate learning difficulty (5), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census2026202520242023
Pupils on roll58524027
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals74%77%80%82%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language2%4%3%4%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 87.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance87.4%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school32.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils11.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission5.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/23England
Sessions missedOverall absence12.6%5.7%10.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence7.6%3.6%7.2%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence5.0%2.1%3.7%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence32.8%21.4%28.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate11.57.50.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers12.6full-time equivalent, 13 people
Pupils per teacher4.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers85%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants7.3full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£48,057
Teachers who left in the year19%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher19.52024/25

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.

Spend per pupil£32,500England £30,720. Total £1.7m
Income per pupil£30,423England £33,526. Total £1.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£15,769England £11,966
Money in reserve38%A lot put by: £607k, £12k per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out-£108kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£32,500spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m65712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate163 per 1,000 people80% higher than the England average
Typical house price£155,000Middlesbrough
Nearest bus stop150 mFrampton Green, 13 stops within 500 m

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
River Tees Hospital SchoolAcademy alternative provision converter0 m9Good 2024Compare
Park End Primary SchoolCouncil280 m608Good 202215Compare
St Pius X Catholic Primary School, a Catholic Voluntary AcademyAcademy410 m194Good 202316Compare
Lift Unity CityAcademy490 m1,033Report card 20264Compare
River Tees Secondary AcademyAcademy alternative provision converter690 m150No overall grade 2025Compare
Pallister Park Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles600Good 202436Compare
Berwick Hills Primary SchoolFoundation0.7 miles321Good 202310Compare
River Tees Primary AcademyAcademy alternative provision converter0.8 miles7Good 2024Compare

Questions parents ask

Is River Tees Academy Grangetown a good school?

River Tees Academy Grangetown doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in June 2025.

What is River Tees Academy Grangetown's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated River Tees Academy Grangetown not judged at its last full inspection on 10 June 2025.

How good are River Tees Academy Grangetown's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 17.1, against 46.8 for England.

How many pupils does River Tees Academy Grangetown have?

58 pupils aged 5 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 100 places, so it is 58% full.

What is attendance like at River Tees Academy Grangetown?

Pupils were in school 87.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 33% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does River Tees Academy Grangetown 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
170a Overdale Road, Middlesbrough, TS3 7EA
Telephone
01642 203873
Website
grangetown.rtmat.org.uk/app/os#!/home
Headteacher
Mrs Leanne Chilton
Type of school
Special free school (Free schools special, free schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 5-19, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Multi-academy trust
River Tees Multi-Academy Trust (5 schools)
Local authority
Redcar and Cleveland
Ward
Park End & Beckfield
Constituency
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2022 (academy free school)
URN
149101 · LAESTAB 8077001 · UKPRN 10090884

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from