The Link School
0.3 miles167 pupils
State-funded · Special school · Sutton
Carew Academy
Special free school · Ages 5 to 18 · Mixed · 272 pupils
At a glance
- Type
- Special free school (state-funded)
- Ages
- 5 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 272 census January 2026
- Capacity
- 276
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Head
- Mr James Kearns
- Trust
- ORCHARD HILL COLLEGE ACADEMY TRUST
- Address
- 33 Headley Avenue, Wallington, SM6 8NQ
- Borough
- Sutton
- Telephone
- 02086478349
- DfE reference (URN)
- 143672
Source: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools · daily extract as at 2026-10-07 · last checked 9 October 2026
Admissions
Places at special schools are normally arranged through a child's Education, Health and Care Plan, with the local authority naming the school. Speak to your borough's special educational needs team rather than applying on the general admissions form.
Inspection
Ofsted graded inspection, 15 January 2020: overall effectiveness at that inspection was Outstanding
(inspection of the predecessor school, Carew Academy)Ofsted stopped giving state schools a single overall grade in September 2024. This grade dates from the inspection shown; it is not a current rating.
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth-form provision
- Outstanding
Source: Ofsted, Management information - state-funded schools - latest inspections as at 31 August 2026 · latest inspections as at 2026-08-31 · last checked 9 October 2026
Pupils and context
- Eligible for free school meals
- 57.5% January 2026
Source: Department for Education, Compare school and college performance · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026 · school census
Attendance and staffing
- Overall absence
- 9.9% 2024/25
- Persistently absent (missed 10% or more)
- 29.2%
- Pupils per teacher
- 5.9 2025/26
Source: Department for Education, Absence rates by school level · 2024/25 · last checked 9 October 2026
Nearby schools
Schools covering the same ages within about a mile, by straight-line distance (not walking or travel time).
Compare with similar schools
Side-by-side comparisons with the nearest schools of the same type. Sourced facts only; no winner is declared.