Ambleside CofE Primary School, Ambleside
Ambleside CofE Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Ambleside, part of The Good Shepherd Multi Academy Trust. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in February 2024. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 30th-highest of the 98 schools in Westmorland and Furness with published results, and 5,071st of 14,452 across England. It was 53% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Westmorland and Furness (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Ambleside CofE Primary School in detail
Ambleside CofE Primary School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "We hope it gives you an insight into life at our wonderful school. Ambleside C of E Primary School sits in an enviable position in the centre of Ambleside with all that this beautiful place has to offer right on our doorstep."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, tennis, dance, guitar, Lego, gardening, art and forest school.
The school runs a breakfast club from 8:30am and after-school care.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils at Ambleside CofE Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 88% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 73% in Westmorland and Furness and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 82% in reading and 91% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Ambleside CofE Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 5 families put Ambleside CofE Primary School as their first choice and 10 named it as one of their preferences, for 5 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Ambleside CofE Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Ambleside CofE Primary School are Grasmere CofE Primary School (2.9 miles, Good, 90% reading, 90% maths); Langdale CofE School (3.4 miles, Good); Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary School (4.3 miles, Good, 83% reading, 83% maths); and St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Windermere (4.7 miles, Requires improvement).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Ambleside CofE Primary School.
Grasmere CofE Primary SchoolLangdale CofE SchoolHawkshead Esthwaite Primary SchoolSt Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Windermere
The trust
Ambleside CofE Primary School is one of 13 schools run by The Good Shepherd Multi Academy Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 49% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
Who goes there
In 2026, 4 pupils (7.7%) received SEN support and 4 (7.7%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Ambleside CofE Primary School had 4 teachers in 2026, one for every 16 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Ambleside CofE Primary School.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Vicarage Road (at), 120 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 20 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, other theft and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Westmorland and Furness (11), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
Ambleside CofE Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 months agoReport card - no single overall grade (Ofsted's framework since November 2025)
Safeguarding standards: met
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Requires Improvement at its February 2024 inspection.
Rated Good for
Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Early years.
Areas Ofsted flagged
Quality of education (Requires Improvement), Leadership & management (Requires Improvement).
At a Glance
21.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 82% to 75% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 88% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 82% to 75% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
17.3
Avg class size
17.5
KS2
3
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Ambleside CofE Primary School
Term dates
Ambleside CofE Primary School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Westmorland and Furness's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Ambleside CofE Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Ambleside CofE Primary School is in Westmorland and Furness; for families living there:
- Westmorland and Furness's school travel policy: Home to School Transport Policy 2027 to 2028 (Reception to Year 11)
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 18
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 18 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 16 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
2 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Westmorland and Furness is 3 (the median across 161 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Ambleside CofE Primary School
Will you get a place at Ambleside CofE Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Ambleside CofE Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Ambleside CofE Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Ambleside CofE Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Westmorland and Furness, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Ambleside CofE Primary School for 2016 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Westmorland and Furness got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
53%
Available places
63 pupils
120 places
57 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Ambleside
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Ambleside
Across Westmorland and Furness council
Places available
2,590
Applications
1,692
Got 1st preference
96.1%
Got preferred school
99.4%
All primary applications across Westmorland and Furness council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
4
SEN Support
4
EHC Plans
15.4%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
52
Total Pupils
32
Boys
20
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
4
Teachers
13.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,820
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,848
Per pupil
£540k
Total funding
£14k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.1%
Overall absence
4.8%
Persistent absence
62
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Ambleside CofE Primary School
What are SATs results like at Ambleside CofE Primary School?
Of the pupils at Ambleside CofE Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 75% reached the expected standard in reading and 88% did so in maths.
What is Ambleside CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Ambleside CofE Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2026, produced a report card, which grades each area but gives no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in February 2024, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for Ambleside CofE Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Ambleside CofE Primary School is oversubscribed, Westmorland and Furness allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Ambleside CofE Primary School?
Ambleside CofE Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 53% of its 120 places.
How big are the classes at Ambleside CofE Primary School?
Classes at Ambleside CofE Primary School average 17.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Ambleside CofE Primary School?
Ambleside CofE Primary School has around 52 pupils on roll. 21% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Ambleside CofE Primary School?
4.1% of sessions were missed at Ambleside CofE Primary School in 2024/25. 4.8% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Ambleside CofE Primary School?
Apply through Westmorland and Furness's coordinated admissions process, naming Ambleside CofE Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Ambleside CofE Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 18 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 16 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 2 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Westmorland and Furness is 3 (the median across 161 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Ambleside CofE Primary School?
Ambleside CofE Primary School is at Vicarage Road, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 9DH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)