The Poplars
The Poplars is an independent special school in Houghton le Spring for boys and girls aged 8 to 18. It has 4 pupils and every place is taken.
Miners Lodge, Market Crescent, New Herrington, Houghton le Spring, DH4 7AP0191 694 1286hexagoncare.comMr Andrew Elliott headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet. That is normal for a school that opened in 2024: new schools usually get their first inspection within three years.
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 Sunderland council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 4 | 3 |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shiney Row Primary School | Council | 680 m | 249 | Good 2022 | 62 | Compare |
| Barnwell Academy | Academy | 870 m | 302 | Outstanding 2023 | 88 | Compare |
| Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw | Academy | 0.7 miles | 291 | No overall grade 2025 | 48 | Compare |
| New Penshaw Academy | Academy | 0.7 miles | 112 | Good 2024 | 13 | Compare |
| Newbottle Primary Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 437 | Report card 2026 | 47 | Compare |
| Burnside Academy Inspires | Academy | 1.5 miles | 174 | Not inspected | 26 | Compare |
| Bournmoor Primary School | Council | 1.6 miles | 66 | Good 2024 | 46 | Compare |
| East Herrington Primary Academy | Academy | 1.8 miles | 476 | Good 2022 | 75 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The Poplars a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score The Poplars yet.
How many pupils does The Poplars have?
4 pupils aged 8 to 18 were on the roll in January 2024. It has 4 places, so it is 100% full.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Miners Lodge, Market Crescent, New Herrington, Houghton le Spring, DH4 7AP
- Telephone
- 0191 694 1286
- Website
- www.hexagoncare.com
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Elliott
- Type of school
- Independent special school (Other independent special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 8-18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Ward
- Shiney Row
- Constituency
- Houghton and Sunderland South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 20 March 2024 (new provision)
- URN
- 150515 · LAESTAB 3946006
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.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- 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.