Columbia Grange School
Academy special converter school in Washington (Sunderland).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
Columbia Grange is a co-educational school for children with severe learning difficulties and/or autism between the ages of five to eleven years. The school initially opened in September 2003 and is a purpose built provision with additional facilities for autistic pupils who have severe learning difficulties.
The school benefits from assessment facilities in our nursery, various therapy rooms, indoor/outdoor adventure playground, information technology room, ball pool, library, food technology room, movement room and a parent's room. The school has extensive outdoor facilities including a multi-purpose play area, pupil's garden, nature trail and a discovery park.
Columbia Grange School is not affiliated to any particular religious denomination. A day in the life Watch our video Your message is important to us, we will be in touch shortly.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
12 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Our Teams
- Governance
- Key Dates
- Day to Day
- Green Pathway
- Blue Pathway
- Rainbow Pathway
- The Nest
- Online Learning
- Charanga (Music)
- Little Wandle
- Forest School
Awards
2 awardsiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Inclusion Quality MarkInclusion
- International School AwardRecognised award
Key facts
- URN
- 150096
- Type
- Academy special converter
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Constituency
- Washington and Gateshead South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 2023
Governing body (6 current, 4 former)
iAcademy trust: local governing body and trust board.Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Mike Bones | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by academy members | since 2023 · until 2029 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marisol Bowman | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2026 · until 2029 |
| Miss Sophie Crichton | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2024 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mr John Lines | Local Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2023 · until 2029 |
| Ms Dawne Taylor | Local Governor | Appointed by academy members | since 2023 · until 2029 |
| Ms Veronica Sweeting | Local Governor | Appointed by academy members | since 2023 · until 2029 |
| Reagan Dunn Former | Local Governor | Appointed by academy members | since 2026 · term ended 2026 |
| Lynsey Batters Former | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2025 · term ended 2026 |
| Mrs Linda Hutchinson Former | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2024 · term ended 2026 |
| Mr David Howe Former | Local Governor | Appointed by academy members | since 2023 · term ended 2026 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record