Birch Wood (Melton Area Special School)

State school · Mixed · ages 4–19 · with sixth formLeicestershire, Melton Mowbray LE13school website

Almost all Year 11 leavers stay in education, above the England rate; none start an apprenticeship.

Where this school leads
100%

of Year 11 leavers stayed in education · Leicestershire 85% · England 86% · DfE destination measures, pupils who left in 2023

Knowledge sphere of Birch Wood (Melton Area Special School): fields of knowledge mapped by the subjects taken here, by ISCED levelLanguage & Communication · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Language & Communication · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 18%Language & Communication · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 15%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Natural Sciences · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 22%Natural Sciences · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 1%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 19%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Health & Safety · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 22%Health & Safety · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Business & Administration · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 3%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Transversal Skills · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 11%Transversal Skills · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 22%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%LanguageMathsScienceICTEngineeringHealthBusinessLawSocialArtsTransversalGreen
Ofsted
Standards kept
Places
—
Pupils
246
Free school meals
41.5%

Ofsted: Short inspection, 17 April 2024: the last full grade still stands · report. Places: the last distance at which places were offered is not on file (it comes from Leicestershire’s allocation statistics). Pupils: of 240 places, including the sixth form. Free school meals: pupils eligible, a measure of family income.

Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Birch Wood (Melton Area Special School) (URN 134640, until 1 December 2025).

After Year 11 · age 16

Where do pupils go at 16?

100%stayed in education after Year 11
This school100%
Leicestershire85%
England86%

DfE Key Stage 4 destination measures · 20 pupils who left Year 11 in 2023

Of the 20 pupils who finished Year 11 at Birch Wood (Melton Area Special School) in 2023, 0% stayed on in Birch Wood (Melton Area Special School)’s own sixth form (Leicestershire average 28%), 30% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.

Stayed in education — counted only if the pupil was still there for two terms of the next year; apprenticeships and jobs are counted the same way.

Full breakdown11
MeasureThis schoolLeicestershireEngland
Pupils in the cohort207,799607,348
Any sustained destination100%93%92%
Stayed in education100%85%86%
— school sixth form0%28%34%
— sixth form college0%10%13%
— further education college30%44%37%
— other education70%2%2%
Apprenticeship0%5%3%
Employment0%3%3%
No sustained destination0%5%6%
Destination unknown0%2%3%
After sixth form · age 18

Where do sixth-formers go at 18?

No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.

GCSE · Year 11 · 2025

How do GCSE results compare?

8.1Attainment 8 score, out of 90
This school8.1
Leicestershire46.2
England46.1

Attainment 8 — average GCSE points across eight subjects, English and maths counted twice; grade 5 in everything scores 50.

DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · 19 pupils in Year 11

47% of pupils here are disadvantaged (England 28%). Disadvantaged pupils here scored 6.6 — below disadvantaged pupils across England (34.9).

0% got grade 5 or above in both English and maths (Leicestershire 47%, England 45%).

Grade 5 — a “strong pass”; grade 4 is a “standard pass”. Progress 8 is not published for 2025: this cohort had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020–21, so there is no baseline.

All GCSE measures10
MeasureThis schoolLeicestershireEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)8.146.246.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths0%47%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths0%67%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects0%42%41%
EBacc average point score0.654.134.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort47%19%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils6.632.434.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils9.449.550.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)———
English as an additional language0%8%19%
Subjects · 2025

What do pupils study?

37.87%of the Key Stage 3 and GCSE curriculum mapped by the subjects taken here

Mapped — the share of the 2,029 learning outcomes the Department for Education sets for these stages that the subjects taken here cover, weighted by how many pupils take each.

DfE subject entries 2025 · curriculum catalogue by sch.today

Green & Sustainability22%
Health & Safety22%
Natural Sciences22%
Engineering & Manufacturing19%
Language & Communication18%

Fields of knowledge — twelve fields the curriculum catalogue sorts every learning outcome into; the bars show the GCSE and A level ring.

GCSE subjects5

Entries as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
English Language1263%89%0%20%8%
Combined Science1263%65%0%9%8%
Mathematics842%88%0%22%13%
Photography632%6%17%19%67%
Graphic Communication316%1%—23%—
Fields of knowledge, all stages12
Natural Sciences37%
Green & Sustainability36%
Language & Communication36%
Health & Safety36%
Engineering & Manufacturing26%
Transversal Skills25%
Mathematics & Statistics24%
Digital & ICT Skills16%
Arts & Humanities12%
Law & Public Administration7%
Social & Cultural Skills5%
Business & Administration3%

Ideas pupils meet most, weighted by the share of the cohort taking the subjects that teach them:

fraction 10.2percentage 7.0vocabulary 6.9particle model 6.3ratio 5.8power 5.1audience 5.0grammar 4.9change of state 4.8translation 4.7reflection 4.5energy transfer 4.5photosynthesis 4.4gradient 4.4formulae 4.3standard form 4.1equation 4.1observation 3.9purpose 3.7adaptation 3.7area 3.7standard english 3.6context 3.6root 3.5

Coverage counts a subject’s outcomes in proportion to the share of the cohort entered for it; Combined Science counts as two thirds of the three separate sciences. Levels follow ISCED 2011 as UNESCO maps it for the UK: Key Stage 3 is ISCED 2; GCSE and A level are both ISCED 3. Methodology: about the data.

Careers

Which jobs use what’s taught here?

12apprenticeship standards closely match the subjects pupils take

A match of what’s taught, not of entry requirements: the standards whose knowledge and skills share the most ideas with the GCSEs and A levels taken here, weighted by how many pupils take each subject.

Level 3 / Level 6 — England’s qualification levels: 3 is A level standard, 4–5 are higher apprenticeships, 6 is a bachelor’s degree.

Skills England apprenticeship standards (Open Government Licence v3.0) · ESCO occupations, © European Union, matched by sch.today · how the match works

Water industry asset maintenance technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses ratio, unit conversion, data collection from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and 5 more · jobs: consumer electronics repair technician, industrial electrician, electrician
Process industry manufacturing technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses conservation of mass, energy change, unit conversion from Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and 3 more · jobs: chemical engineering technician, chemical manufacturing quality technician, chemical production manager
ScientistLevel 6 degree apprenticeship · health and science · uses sampling technique, experimental design, conclusion from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and 1 more · jobs: physicist, analytical chemist, geneticist
More apprenticeships9
Science manufacturing technician 2023Level 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses unit conversion, dna, mixture from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and 2 more · jobs: pharmaceutical engineer, chemical manufacturing quality technician, pharmacy technician
Geoscientist (integrated degree)Level 6 degree apprenticeship · health and science · uses climate change, data collection, conduct field work from Biology, Chemistry, Computing and 2 more · jobs: geologist, geological engineer, exploration geologist
Battery manufacturing technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses unit conversion, area, periodic table from Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and 2 more · jobs: battery test technician
Junior visual effects - VFX artist or assistant technical director - ATDLevel 4 (higher) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses scale, data collection, computer systems from Art and Design, Chemistry, Physics and 4 more · jobs: 3D modeller, technical director, animation layout artist
Water industry network technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses standard form, unit conversion, ph scale from Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and 2 more · jobs: sewerage network operative, product quality inspector, sewerage maintenance technician
Production assistant - screen and audioLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses punctuation, spelling, grammar from English, Modern Foreign Language · jobs: factory hand, supply chain assistant, management assistant
Storyboard artistLevel 7 degree apprenticeship · creative and design · uses presentation, interpretation, summarising from Art and Design, English Language, Physics and 2 more · jobs: storyboard artist
Non-destructive technologies technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses ratio, si unit, measurement from Biology, Mathematics, Physics and 2 more
Water industry treatment process technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses standard form, unit conversion, si unit from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and 1 more · jobs: wastewater treatment technician, water plant technician, recycling specialist
Admissions

How do you get a place?

The last distance at which Birch Wood (Melton Area Special School) offered Year 7 places is not yet on file; it comes from Leicestershire’s allocation statistics.

  1. 31 OctApply to Leicestershire in Year 6 for a Year 7 place
  2. 1 MarNational Offer Day
  3. Dec–FebYear 11: apply directly to the sixth form; most close applications in these months
Leicestershire

Compare with nearby schools

Stayed in education at 16 · Attainment 8 · pupils

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.