Beacon Hill Community School, Wigton

Good
Secondary
Community school
Mixed
Ages 1116

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mr Tom Hailwood
Pupils:135 / 350 capacity
LA:Cumberland
Phone:01697320509
Address:Market Square, Aspatria, Wigton, CA7 3EZ
Federation:Cumbria Futures Federation
Admissions:Non-selective
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 1 year ago
-

Overall

Requires Improvement

Quality of Education

Good

Behaviour & Attitudes

Good

Personal Development

Requires Improvement

Leadership & Management

Inspected 24 June 2025View full report
URN:112375
UKPRN:10014963
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Penrith and Solway
Urban/Rural:Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

This school provides a calm, welcoming environment where pupils thrive socially and emotionally. Staff work hard to support pupils' attendance and behaviour, and the school offers excellent enrichment through outdoor activities, trips, and leadership opportunities. Pupils receive strong careers guidance and real work experience to prepare them for their future.

Key Strengths

  • Strong behaviour and positive relationships between staff and pupils
  • Effective pastoral support for pupils with challenging behaviour
  • Excellent enrichment opportunities including outdoor activities, trips, and leadership roles
  • Good support for improving pupil attendance
  • High-quality careers advice and work experience opportunities

Areas for Improvement

  • Some subjects in key stage 3 do not teach the full national curriculum content
  • Inconsistent delivery of the curriculum across subjects means some pupils do not learn as well as they should
  • Teachers do not always check pupils have understood before moving to new topics, leaving misconceptions unaddressed
  • Reading support is not fully embedded or implemented consistently across school
  • Some pupils with SEND do not receive consistent adaptations to help them learn

Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements are effective and the school has created a positive culture around pupil safety.

Extracurricular Activities

Mountain biking, skiing, theatre trips, science activities, robotics activities, Cumbrian award, prefect roles, sports leader roles, work experience, mock interviews

Beacon Hill Community School is a safe and welcoming secondary school where pupils behave well and enjoy learning. However, the quality of education requires improvement because the curriculum is not consistently delivered across all subjects and some pupils do not have access to the full national curriculum.

At a Glance

43.0%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

25 responses
Would recommend84%
Child is happy92%
Well taught88%
Good progress72%
Feels safe88%
Well behaved80%
Bullying dealt with36%
Kept informed88%
Handles concerns60%
Wider development84%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Class Sizes

16.8

Avg class size

6

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Train Stations

Aspatria Rail Station
589m · 10 min walk
Can you get into this school?
Enter your postcode to find out

Commute Calculator

Find out if this school is reachable from your home - before you apply

Sign up free to see your commute to this school

What are my chances?

Enter your postcode to estimate your probability of getting a place.

Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

39%

Available places

135 pupils

350 capacity

215 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Wigton

High pressure
New homes approved:222
Projected new pupils:40

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Wigton

Admissions Demand - Cumberland

Low demand0.89x oversubscription

Places available

3,150

Applications

2,811

Got 1st preference

97.2%

Got preferred school

99.4%

Secondary admissions across Cumberland (2025/26)

Inspection History(15)

24 June 2025
Quality of EducationRequires Improvement
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementRequires Improvement
8 January 2020
Quality of EducationGood
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementGood
1 May 2019

House Prices

Moving into the catchment? See what homes near this school actually cost

Sign up free to see house prices near this school

SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

Sign up free to see special needs support at this school

Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

Sign up free to see who goes to this school

Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

Sign up free to see teacher and staff data

School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

Sign up free to see how this school is funded

Pupil Absence
2024/25

9.56221%

Overall absence

21.98582%

Persistent absence

141

Enrolments

Authorised6.35707%
Unauthorised3.20514%
Persistent (10%+)21.98582%
Severe (50%+)3.5461%

Absence trend

6.00947%
18/19
6.4419%
20/21
12.15312%
21/22
9.4511%
22/23
10.07424%
23/24
9.56221%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

Reviews

No reviews yet - be the first to leave one.

Leave a Review

You need to be signed in to leave a review.

Feeder Primary Schools

Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity

Nearby Schools

Do you work at this school?

Claim your profile free to get a verified badge, update your contact details, and see how many parents are viewing your page.