SF School Facts UK

Special school in Walsall

Castle School

Odell Road, Leamore, Walsall, West Midlands, WS3 2ED

Sixth form Full
School website 01922710129
Ofsted No grade June 2025
Pupils 247 over capacity (120%)
Local deprivation 1/10 more deprived

Ofsted

Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 3 June 2025.

This inspection did not give an overall grade. Read the report for Ofsted's findings; it cannot be compared as a single score with a historic grade.

Read the Ofsted report

Current published outcome
Report card — no overall grade
Last overall grade in this dataset
Not stored — this dataset keeps the latest inspection, which has no overall grade
Days since inspection
486 days
Framework era
Current framework (no overall grade)

These four fields describe the latest published inspection on this record. The dataset does not keep a previous inspection row, so a school inspected under the current framework will usually have no overall grade to show as “prior”.

Exam results

Special schools serve pupils whose needs the standard measures were not designed to describe, so results are not shown or ranked here.

Evidence found
No phase-compatible comparable headline measure is published here.
Source coverage
DfE 2024/25 school performance files, checked by exact URN and establishment type.
What this means
The standard mainstream measure would not support a fair comparison for this establishment.
What this does not mean
The school achieved zero, has no outcomes, or should be read as performing below a mainstream school.

Pupils

Pupils on roll
247
Places
205
How full
Full — 247 pupils against 205 places
Girls / boys
70 / 177
Overall absence
11%

England 5.8%

Persistently absent
32%

England 14.7% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
63%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
11%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
100%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
0%

England 15%

School funding 2025-26 financial year

Not covered by this mainstream-school release.

Evidence found
Not covered by this mainstream-school release; this is not represented as £0.
Source coverage
DfE mainstream-school allocations for running costs for pupils aged 5-16, importer snapshot 23 August 2026.
What this means
The official mainstream allocation release does not provide a publishable row for this establishment.
What this does not mean
The school received no public funding or has no budget; other establishment types and funding streams use different publications.

Allocation is not expenditure. DfE says this release combines the schools block with several other revenue grants and excludes capital spending. Funding is shown for context and is never used in School Facts ordering, peer groups or quality claims. Source, licence and coverage.

Roads and getting there

Road casualties within 500m

Child pedestrian casualties
2

England average 1.6 — pedestrians under 16, over five years

All reported collisions
33

England average 24.2 over five years

Of those, serious or fatal
7
Busiest road nearby
A34

16,110 vehicles a day (2025)

Public transport

Bus stops within 500m
10

England average 11.9

Nearest station
Bloxwich Rail Station

1.3 km away — railway station

Traffic volume is the context the collision count needs: a school beside a major road will record more collisions than one on a quiet street without being any less well run.

Every collision reported to the police within 500m of the school over the five years to 2024, from the Department for Transport's road casualty statistics. A high count usually says the school sits on or near a busy road, not that the school is unsafe — counts rise with traffic and with how built up an area is, and a rural school on a fast road may have fewer collisions but a worse one. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position.

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
95%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
95%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
0%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
0%
No sustained destination
5%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
22

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The area around the school

1/10 Deprivation decile

Among the most deprived fifth of England.

1/10 Child poverty decile

Among the most deprived fifth of England for children in low-income families.

Indices of Deprivation 2019, for the small area the school stands in. 1 means the most deprived tenth of England, 10 the least. The second measure counts only children living in low-income families, which is the one that describes the intake a school is likely to draw on.

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£173,000

postcode sector WS3 2 · 253 sales

Typical range
£146,500 to £196,500

middle half of sales

Detached
£285,000
Semi-detached
£180,000
Terraced
£165,750
Flat
£68,750

Homes around this school are cheaper than most of England.

Every residential sale registered in this postcode sector since January 2024, from HM Land Registry. A sector covers roughly 2,500 addresses. England's median over the same period was £293,000.

Who lives there

Adults with a degree
18%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
34%

England 18.3%

In professional or managerial work
3%

England 13.4%

Households deprived in 2+ ways
35%

England 17.8%

Residents in very good health
41%

England 48.4%

Housing

Owned by the occupier
44%

England 62.7%

Social housing
38%

England 17%

Privately rented
19%

England 19.2%

Detached homes
29%

England 38.2%

Four or more bedrooms
4%

England 22.5%

No car
33%

England 21.9%

Census 2021, for Walsall 017D and the wider neighbourhood around it. These figures describe the area, not the pupils — children may travel in from much further away, and for selective, faith and independent schools they usually do.

School details

Type
Community special school
Phase
Special
Ages
Ages 7–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Headteacher
Headteacher: Christine Fraser
Opened as this establishment
1 January 1900
Register status
Open
Local authority
Walsall
Ward
Birchills Leamore
Constituency
Walsall and Bloxwich
URN
104269

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Official DfE record
Open the register entry

The source record for this establishment and URN.

The URN identifies this registered establishment. If a school converts or is replaced, DfE may issue a new URN; this page does not stitch different establishments together by a similar name.

Nearest special schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Progress 8DistanceCompare
Ryecroft SchoolOther independent special school No overall grade — — 0.9 mi
Old Hall SchoolCommunity special school No overall grade — — 1.1 mi
Jane Lane SchoolCommunity special school Good 2023 — — 1.3 mi
West Midlands Education and SkillsOther independent special school No overall grade — — 1.4 mi
Bescot HallOther independent special school No overall grade — — 1.9 mi
Cherry Tree SchoolOther independent special school No overall grade — — 2.6 mi
Bow Street SchoolOther independent special school No overall grade — — 4.1 mi
Green Park SchoolCommunity special school No overall grade — — 4.2 mi

Evidence ledger

Reference dates and join methods are kept separate because the figures do not all describe the same year or geography.

EvidencePublisherReference dateHow it reaches this page
School identityGet Information About Schools23 August 2026Exact URN 104269; unified importer snapshot
Inspection evidenceOfsted management information31 July 2026Exact URN; inspection 3 June 2025
Pupil intakeDfE school census2024/25Exact URN; suppressed values remain missing
Funding allocationDfE school funding statistics2025-26 financial yearNo row for this URN in the mainstream-school release; not represented as zero
Roads and transportDfT road casualties, traffic and NaPTANFive-year road window; access-node snapshotCoordinate join within the stated radius
NeighbourhoodONS Census2021LSOA/MSOA containing the school, not pupil homes
DeprivationEnglish Indices of Deprivation2019LSOA containing the school
Home pricesHM Land Registry Price Paid DataSales since January 2024School postcode sector, not a catchment

These sources are published for reuse under the Open Government Licence v3.0, including the Crown database-right notice that accompanies Price Paid Data. Definitions and source notes. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.

Questions this school record can answer

Which exact school is this?

Match the DfE URN, school name and address; names and structures can change while the URN remains the stable identifier.

What does the latest inspection evidence say?

Use the inspection date and framework shown. Do not compare a legacy overall grade directly with the newer report-card judgements.

How should I compare nearby schools?

Compare the same phase, cohort and academic year, then keep intake context and confidence intervals beside performance measures.

What must a parent verify?

Check current admissions rules, travel practicality, support for the child’s needs and the school’s latest official information before deciding.