Breckenbrough School A GSG School
- Breckenbrough School
Sandhutton
Thirsk
North Yorkshire
YO7 4EN - Head: Simon Bannister
- T 01845 587238
- F 01845 587385
- E office@breckenbrough.org.uk
- W www.breckenbrough.org.uk
- A special independent school for boys aged from 9 to 17 with learning and behavioural difficulties, including Asperger’s, autism spectrum disorder and ADHD; pupils have at least average ability
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: North Yorkshire
- Pupils: 68 pupils
- Religion: Quaker
- Open days: Please contact Breckenbrough
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
-
Ofsted:
- Latest Overall effectiveness Requires improvement 1
- 16-19 study programmes Good 1
- Outcomes for children and learners Requires improvement 1
- Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 1
- Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 1
- Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement 1
- 1 Full inspection 17th November 2021
- Previous Ofsted grade: Good on 19th November 2014
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
Boys can do their exams on their own and choose where they sit them, and who invigilates. We visited just before a mock English exam and desks were dotted throughout the school, some in odd nooks and crannies, head completely accepting of these ‘quirks,’ and happy to accommodate to avoid anxiety. Each boy has an individual safeguarding plan and staff know where to find them if ‘flight mode’ kicks in ...
What the school says...
Breckenbrough provides a therapeutic environment where boys who cannot thrive in mainstream can achieve academically and socially.
The school works successfully with boys with Aspergers, ADD, ADHD, ODD and other conditions.
All boys come to Breckenbrough with an Education, Health and Care Plan which states that we can meet their needs. Most boys leave the school to go onto further or higher education or into training or employment.
Boys are supported by well-qualified and enthusiastic staff who learn to understand them. The school has a full-time registered psychologist. ...Read more
Do you know this school?
The schools we choose, and what we say about them, are founded on parents’ views. If you know this school, please share your views with us.
Please login to post a comment.
What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since 2017, Simon Banister. Degree in secondary education from Manchester Met. Always wanted to teach, ‘I never really left school’. Taught in mainstream, PE and geography, for a few years but was not for him. Started teaching adults with learning difficulties ‘and it clicked.’ High functioning autistic pupils are his niche, and he’s fascinated by the condition. Started at Breck as deputy in 2013, became acting head for a term in 2016, before taking over a year later. Was accepted to work in Australia but opted for York instead, and no regrets. Small and slight, very smart in appearance, very switched on, with no ego.
Our first head with a pierced ear. We loved his office with Jimi Hendrix posters and guitars on the wall. He’s keen on music, particularly the...
Subscribe now for instant access to read The Good Schools Guide review.
Already subscribed? Login here.
Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
Breckenbrough School is a residential boarding school, for 40 pupils aged 9-17 who exhibit emotional and behavioural difficulties and high academic potential. All of our pupils have repeatedly struggled with the structure and ethos of mainstream education where their eccentricities and needs have never been adequately met. Our pupils have in effect learning differences that deserve the opportunity to be developed. We have developed expertise and success with boys diagnosed with Asperger's, ADHD, ADD and dyslexia in recent years. The ethos reflects the philosophy of the Society of Friends. Central to the ethos is the belief in the innate good of everyone. We give our pupils the time and space to be themselves in a clear, non-confrontational, flexible structure. Where there are problems we encourage honesty in addressing them in order to move forward.
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | Y |
| Aspergers | Y |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | Y |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Dyscalculia | |
| Dysgraphia | |
| Dyslexia | |
| Dyspraxia | |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | |
| Genetic | |
| Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | Y |
| Has SEN unit or class | |
| HI - Hearing Impairment | |
| Hospital School | |
| Mental health | |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | |
| Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
| Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| PD - Physical Disability | |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | |
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | |
| Special facilities for Visually Impaired | |
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| VI - Visual Impairment |
Interpreting catchment maps
The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.
Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.
For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained
Further reading
If there are more applicants to a school than it has places for, who gets in is determined by which applicants best fulfil the admissions criteria.
Admissions criteria are often complicated, and may change from year to year. The best source of information is usually the relevant local authority website, but once you have set your sights on a school it is a good idea to ask them how they see things panning out for the year that you are interested in.
Many schools admit children based on distance from the school or a fixed catchment area. For such schools, the cut-off distance will vary from year to year, especially if the school give priority to siblings, and the pattern will be of a central core with outliers (who will mostly be siblings). Schools that admit on the basis of academic or religious selection will have a much more scattered pattern.
*The coloured areas outlined in black are Census Output Areas. These are made up of a group of neighbouring postcodes, which accounts for their odd shapes. These provide an indication, but not a precise map, of the school’s catchment: always refer to local authority and school websites for precise information.
The 'hotter' the colour the more children have been admitted.
Children get into the school from here:
regularly
most years
quite often
infrequently
sometimes, but not in this year
The Good Schools Guide newsletter
Educational insight in your inbox. Sign up for our popular newsletters.