Sir Charles Parsons School
Sir Charles Parsons School is a foundation special school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for boys and girls aged 11 to 19. It has 214 pupils, 4 more than it has places for. About 77 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 2024.
Westbourne Avenue, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE6 4ED0191 295 2280scp.newcastle.sch.ukMs Karen Parker acting headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 10 July 2024 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
39 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Newcastle upon Tyne | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 39 | 33 | 28 | 32 | 19 | 19 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | – | – | – | – | 0.3 | 0.8 | 43.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | – | – | – | -1.52 | -1.36 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% | 44% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% | 61% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | – | – | – | – | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.84 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% | 38% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | – | – | – | – | 0.0 | 1.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | – | – | – | – | 1.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | – | – | – | 0.3 | 0.8 | – | – |
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 Newcastle upon Tyne 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 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 Newcastle upon Tyne with profound and multiple learning difficulties provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (185), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (22), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Moderate learning difficulty (2), language and communications needs (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 214 | 210 | 208 | 205 | 211 | 192 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 74% | 68% | 67% | 65% | 64% | 64% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 26% | 26% | 25% | 24% | 24% | 22% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 99% | 99% | 99% | 99% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 85.6% 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 | 14.4% | 15.6% | 15.3% | 13.9% | 24.1% | 10.5% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 9.2% | 11.1% | 10.3% | 11.2% | 21.2% | 8.4% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 5.2% | 4.5% | 5.0% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 2.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 36.9% | 42.9% | 46.6% | 41.8% | 77.3% | 32.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 3.3 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.7 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 28 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 96% | 88% | 95% | 97% |
| Education | 96% | 88% | 95% | 97% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 4% | 6% | 5% | 3% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Alban's Catholic Primary School, Walker | Academy | 110 m | 213 | Good 2024 | 33 | Compare |
| Walker Riverside Academy | Academy | 230 m | 1,101 | No overall grade 2024 | 7 | Compare |
| Walkergate Community School | Academy | 750 m | 616 | Not inspected | 41 | Compare |
| Tyneview Primary School | Academy | 790 m | 257 | Report card 2026 | 80 | Compare |
| Carville Academy | Academy | 0.7 miles | – | No overall grade 2025 | – | Compare |
| Benfield School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 819 | No overall grade 2025 | 3 | Compare |
| Monkchester Road Nursery School | Local authority nursery school | 0.8 miles | 125 | No overall grade 2025 | – | Compare |
| Welbeck Academy | Academy | 0.9 miles | 459 | Report card 2025 | 40 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Sir Charles Parsons School a good school?
Sir Charles Parsons School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in July 2024.
What is Sir Charles Parsons School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Sir Charles Parsons School outstanding at its last full inspection on 10 July 2024.
How many pupils does Sir Charles Parsons School have?
214 pupils aged 11 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 102% full.
What is attendance like at Sir Charles Parsons School?
Pupils were in school 85.6% 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 Sir Charles Parsons School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for 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 Sir Charles Parsons 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
- Westbourne Avenue, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE6 4ED
- Telephone
- 0191 295 2280
- Website
- www.scp.newcastle.sch.uk
- Acting Headteacher
- Ms Karen Parker
- Type of school
- Foundation special school (Foundation special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 11-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- The Newcastle Special Schools Trust (2 schools)
- Local authority
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Ward
- Walkergate
- Constituency
- Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 1999
- URN
- 131987 · LAESTAB 3917035 · UKPRN 10017509
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, 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.