Best Schools in Cumbria

How many schools are there in Cumbria?

Cumbria has 326 open schools: 260 state primary, 37 state secondary or all-through, 5 independent, 13 special and 11 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Cumbria are rated Outstanding?

22 schools in Cumbria were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Cambian Whinfell School, George Romney Junior School, Lanercost CofE Primary School, Bookwell Primary School, Keswick School and 17 more. Counting Good as well, 93% of the 295 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Cambian Whinfell SchoolGeorge Romney Junior SchoolLanercost CofE Primary SchoolBookwell Primary SchoolKeswick School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Cumbria get the best GCSE results?

Of the 39 schools in Cumbria with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 65.2 and 85% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Keswick School, with an Attainment 8 score of 50.9 and 55% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Kirkby Stephen Grammar School, with an Attainment 8 score of 50.2 and 67% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Selective schools admit by ability, so their raw results are not a like-for-like comparison with comprehensives. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School PenrithKeswick SchoolKirkby Stephen Grammar School

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Cumbria have the best SATs results?

6 of the 204 primary schools in Cumbria with 2025 Key Stage 2 results had every pupil reach the expected standard in both reading and maths, among them Morland Area CofE Primary School, Rosley CofE School and Skelton School. Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Morland Area CofE Primary SchoolRosley CofE SchoolSkelton School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Cumbria?

Yes. Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith is a state grammar school in Cumbria. Grammar schools admit pupils by ability through an entrance test, usually sat at the start of Year 6.

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Cumbria have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Cumbria have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Cumbria?

Apply to your council - Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness or Northumberland, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.