The Grove Special School
The Grove Special School is a council special school in Berwick-upon-Tweed for boys and girls aged 2 to 19. It has 51 pupils, 1 more than it has places for. About 23 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools.
Grove Gardens, Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 2EN01289 306390thegrove.northumberland.sch.ukMrs Penelope Derries headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
4 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. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
5 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 | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | – | – | 0% | – | 60% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | – | – | 0% | – | 7% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | – | 0% | – | – | 0% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | – | 0% | – | – | 0% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | – | 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.
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 Northumberland 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, 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 Northumberland with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (31), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (13), Specific learning difficulty (5), Autistic spectrum disorder (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 51 | 52 | 51 | 49 | 48 | 45 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 28% | 27% | 20% | 22% | 23% | 24% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 4% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 7% |
| 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 92.2% 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 | 7.9% | 10.2% | 8.5% | 7.5% | 9.0% | 4.9% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.7% | 10.2% | 8.5% | 7.5% | 9.0% | 4.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 26.2% | 31.0% | 22.7% | 26.8% | 27.9% | 15.2% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 5.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 7 pupils who left in 2022/23 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Park Primary School | Council | 390 m | 110 | Good 2023 | 46 | Compare |
| Berwick Academy | Academy | 730 m | 601 | Requires improvement 2024 | 6 | Compare |
| Tweedmouth West Primary School | Council | 880 m | 145 | Good 2020 | 31 | Compare |
| St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Berwick | Academy | 0.6 miles | 98 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Spittal Community Primary School | Council | 0.8 miles | 128 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 1.3 miles | 161 | Good 2023 | 51 | Compare |
| Scremerston First School | Council | 1.6 miles | 38 | No overall grade 2025 | 30 | Compare |
| Berwick St Mary's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 2.0 miles | 121 | Good 2023 | 31 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The Grove Special School a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score The Grove Special School yet.
How many pupils does The Grove Special School have?
51 pupils aged 2 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 50 places, so it is 102% full.
What is attendance like at The Grove Special School?
Pupils were in school 92.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 26% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does The Grove Special School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, multi-sensory impairment, 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 The Grove Special 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
- Grove Gardens, Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 2EN
- Telephone
- 01289 306390
- Website
- www.thegrove.northumberland.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Penelope Derries
- 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
- Northumberland
- Ward
- Berwick West with Ord
- Constituency
- North Northumberland
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 122385 · LAESTAB 9297012 · UKPRN 10017205
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.