Silverwood School

Community special school in Devizes, Wiltshire, England
Silverwood School
Location

, ,
SN10 2QQ

England
Coordinates51°22′08″N 2°02′02″W / 51.369°N 2.034°W / 51.369; -2.034
Information
TypeCommunity special school
Local authorityWiltshire Council
Department for Education URN148145 Tables
OfstedReports
Head teacherSean McKeown
GenderCoeducational
Age5 to 16
Enrolment404 (May 2023)
Websitewww.silverwood.wilts.sch.uk

Silverwood School (formerly Rowdeford School and briefly North Wiltshire School) is a special needs community school, near Rowde, Wiltshire, England, for young people with complex needs and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) aged between 5 and 16.[1] The school caters for 130 pupils. In 2008 the school was awarded specialist status in communication and interaction.

The school is run by Wiltshire Council with additional support from Silverwood School Charity Trust (formed in 2001 as Rowdeford Charity Trust), an independent charity that supports the advancement of education for young people with disabilities and special needs.[2] The school is built around Rowdeford House, a two-storey country house built in 1812 for Wadham Locke,[3] later MP for Devizes.

Weekday boarding places were provided for 23 children, reducing to 16 places in September 2016. Wiltshire Council withdrew funding for these in March 2018, causing boarding cease in July 2018.[4]

In 2020, Rowdeford School formally merged with Larkrise School in Trowbridge and St Nicholas School in Chippenham to form North Wiltshire School, renamed Silverwood School in 2021. In September 2024 a 350-place extension at the former Rowdeford site was opened, as the only site for the whole school.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Rowdeford School, Rowde". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Silverwood School Charity Trust, registered charity no. 3983941". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  3. ^ Historic England. "Rowdeford School (1033882)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Rowde special school to shut its boarding house". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  5. ^ McLaughlin, Matthew (6 October 2021). "Council approves £38m extension to Silverwood super school". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald.
  6. ^ Hughes, Jason (5 September 2025). "Children and teachers celebrate as Princess Anne praises 'excellent' school". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald.
  • Official website
  • Silverwood School Charity Trust
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